Shortage of sanitation workers hits cleanliness in Jalandhar again

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, June 22

“Mayor Saab, I do not have enough safai karamcharis in my ward and staff crunch is creating problems,” said a councillor during the General House meeting that was held last week, to which the Mayor replied, “Bharti honi hai, samasya da samadhan ho jaayega (Recruitments will be done and the problem will be resolved.”

The councillor again said, “Panj saal ho gaye ehi sunde hoye, halle takk te hoyi nahee, hun ki hoyegi (Five years have already passed, but the matter has not been addressed so far, what will happen now.” This conversation sums up the problem almost every ward is facing. Even this basic facility of provision of safai karamcharis in the wards has not been done by the MC, forget about the completion of big development projects.

Sewerage problems also persist

Be it MC work or projects coming under the Smart City project, nothing is being done. Pre-monsoon showers may have brought cheer to city residents, but problems related to sewerage are going to overshadow it. Jagdish Samrai, from Ward Number 78, said sewage has been overflowing in several areas and no cleaning has been done because of the absence of super suction machines.

“No tenders have been floated for super suction machines yet,” he claimed. Councillor Bachan Lal from Ward Number 36 shared the same problem. He said, “I have talked to the MC officials several times, but the sewerage issue has not been resolved. Is samasya ne bada pareshan kitta hai.”

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There are only five safai karamcharis in my ward. We have to face the wrath of people every day. I need more than 30 workers in my ward. Just look at the difference in the number and one will get to know how we manage everything. — Anita Rani, Ward No.75 councillor

Downpour in the city is enough to expose the MC’s claims when it comes to taking care of basic amenities for the residents. Amid rains and filth around, the absence of safai karamcharis has only worsened the situation.

The shortage of safai karamcharis has been raised by residents and councillors in several meetings, through memorandums, but nothing has been done yet. Councillor Tarsem Singh from Ward No.34 said that in his ward there were only 10 safai karamcharis but he needed over 20 karamcharis. “It becomes difficult to clean areas. There are some mohallas where garbage is lifted and cleanliness is done after a gap of two days,” he said.

Ward No.75 councillor Anita Rani said, “There are only five safai karamcharis in my ward. We have to face the wrath of people every day. I need more than 30 workers in my ward. Just look at the difference in the number and one will get to know how we manage everything.” She added that on a daily basis, they cover only one street in the entire ward. “People wait for days for their turn and the cycle continues. The MC was formed in January 2018, and for three years, I didn’t have even a single karamchari in my ward. It is only in 2021 that I got a handful of the karamcharis,” Anita said.

In Ward No.78 too, against the requirement of 32, only five safai karamcharis are working.