All safai karamcharis now to work in field
Charanjit Singh Teja
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 3
A section of sanitation workers heaved a sigh of relief as the Department of Local Government has decided to send all sanitation workers in the field by cancelling their deployment in various offices and in some cases at residences of officials.
The Director of Local Government Department has written to all Commissioners of municipal corporations in the state to not get any other work from safai karamcharis other than sanitation. The directions have been issued on the demand of various unions of sanitation workers, who had met the Punjab Local Government Minister in January.
The office-bearers of Safai Karamcharis unions said for a long time, most of the sanitation workers, who come from non-Valmiki communities, preferred to get deployment to other departments where they don’t have to do sanitation job.
Vinod Kumar Bitta, president, Safai Karamcharis’ Union, said, “Most workers, who are working in the field, belong to the Valmiki community as they do not hesitate to broom roads and lift garbage. But most sanitation workers belonging to non-Valmiki communities, it has been observed, often hesitate to broom streets.
“They manage to get their deployment in the MC office and work in a clean environment. Most of them are working as attendants, peons, drivers and some of them even work on computers. Sanitation work is not reserved for staff belonging to the Valmiki community. If someone is employed as a sanitation work, he should be in the field irrespective of his community.”
The unions had met Local Government Minister Balkar Singh on January 31 and highlighted the issues. The department has already issued the directions in this regard and a reminder has been issued on July 16. Now various unions of the Amritsar MC led by Vinod Kumar Bitta are going to meet the MC Commissioner to implement the orders of the department in letter and spirit.
