Mangaluru: Though civic workers need to be provided with safety gears while collecting garbage, the officials of Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) and the contractors seem to be not serious about the same as many civic workers are still seen collecting garbage with bare hands.
It was revealed when dalit leaders who were present at the monthly SC/ST monthly meeting at Commissioner of Police office on Sunday on October 28 shed light on the situation of the civic workers. Citing an incident of cleaning the manhole at S L Mathias Road in the city, where a worker was seen working without using mask and gloves, Dalit leader Thilak Kumar said, though there are strict guidelines for cleaning the drainage and manhole, it has not been followed in Mangaluru. “Still, workers are forced to work without having safety equipment“, he said.
Responding to this, Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE) SP Dr. C B Vedamurthy said that he would take the issue seriously and will write a letter to MCC Commissioner in this regard. He also recalled the incident, wherein an FIR was registered against the MCC Commissioner for not taking safety measures while undertaking the work of cleaning drainage at Nellikayi Road in the year 2017.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Hanumantharaya also informed that the MCC should not repeat the mistake and treat civic workers well. “The civic workers should be aware of their rights and should possess all the necessary equipment while undertaking sanitation works“, he said.
