Finally, a messiah for garbage lifters on donkeysDeputy Mayor raises issue in House, says they are getting meagre wages in violation of collector rates

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 10

Garbage lifters working to collect waste from narrow streets of the walled city areas on donkeys, are being paid meagre salaries. There are 45 such persons and a similar number of donkeys working to collect the garbage from the city, who are working for the last two decades. The MC pays Rs2,850 per month to each donkey owner.

Now, these ‘donkey batches’ have found a messiah in the form of MC Deputy Mayor Younis Kumar, who claimed that there has been no hike in their salary for the last 15 years.

“The owner of the donkey gets less than Rs100 for a day. This amount is insufficient to feed a donkey. What about the person who collects garbage door to door? This is a violation of collector rates fixed by the government. They should be paid at least the collector rates. Some extra amount should be paid to feed the donkey,” said Younis Kumar.

The narrow streets in the walled city are a major challenge for door-to-door collection of garbage in the city. There are some streets in the city that are less than 3-feet wide, where small carts cannot enter. Donkeys are the only option that are doing this job efficiently.

It is the first time, when someone in the MC has raised a voice in favour of donkey batches in the last 15 years in the House. Younis Kumar said the services of these donkey batches needed to be recognised and advocated a good salary which should not be less than the collector rates fixed by the government.