Amit Kumar, a cleaner who collects garbage outside Maulana Azad Medical College, looks puzzled when asked about the protective gear (gloves/mask) that he should be wearing while at work.
“I haven’t even seen what these things look like. What gear are you talking about?’’ he asks.
“Who cares about a garbage collector? As long as the work is done and the premises are clean, who bothers how we work and what dangers we are exposed to,” he says standing bare feet and picking out the “saleable” items from the hospital garbage.
“We pick out what can be sold and throw the rest. We don’t even get regular pay for our work and the boys aren’t sure who to complain to and what to do,’’ he says.
When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, Amit gives the same puzzled look, “What is that?... Does it mean I will finally be paid my wages on time every month?”
Amit has little complaints about his work. “I don’t mind the work, I am used to it now. But yes if we were given proper protective gear, uniform and disinfectants, life would have been so much easier.”
For Amit the worst part about his job is the attack by stray dogs and the constant stench that just doesn’t seem to leave him.
“If the Prime Minister reads this article, he should do something about people like us. ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ to me seems like just another rich man’s slogan. We (garbage collectors) despite doing an essential work are not given any benefits of being engaged in a dangerous profession,” he adds.
