A traffic police personnel regulates traffic on Santhome High Road in Chennai
T here are certain services that can’t be run from home, no matter how much we stretch our imagination; some professionals have to put themselves out there. Those that come readily to mind are the ones engaged in conservancy operations, those who regulate traffic, and of course, those who are in the medical field. The list is longer than this; and their services of these professionals certainly assumes considerable value in these times. There are animators with Greater Chennai Corporation, one for each ward, who are tasked with the job of heading to the households in their ward and talk to them about proper waste management, which includes source segregation. They also issue pamphlets to residents on how to go about it. In these times, animators are being employed in raising awareness among the public about how to stay sanitised so that they check the spread of the new Coronavirus — the awareness sessions are not restricted to houses, but is also conducted in public places where people are seen gathered. Vidhya Padmanabhan, GCC animator for Ward 175, says that animators carry out this work along with sanitary inspectors.
“Now, we also head to bus stands, tea shops and other public places, and hand out pamphlets on sanitisation, and also talk to them about it.” In some cases, the effort is accompanied by a demonstration. “We also want conservancy workers to be safe by using sanitisers properly, and so demonstrations are organised for them,” says Vidhya.
When The Hindu Downtown got in touch with an official of the Solid Waste Management department of Greater Chennai Corporation, on the measures taken to ensure the safety of conservancy workers in these times, he said they have been provided with masks and gloves.
Now, the moot point is whether enough attention is being paid to ensure they use these safety aids, and if they do, use it properly.
Conservation in these times
This is that time of the year when Olive Ridely turtles come into focus in our parts. The sea turtles need us to protect the eggs they lay on the coast from predation on account of stray dogs, and also some humans who have developed a taste for these eggs. As forest officials and volunteers engaged in this work go about doing this work, residents are allowed to go along with as a conservation awareness exercise after they have obtained permission from the Forest Department. Earlier, some stringent rules were said to have been put in place to ensure only those sincere about conservation got to go on these walks. At that time, C.H. Padma, Wildlife Warden, Chennai, said that the measure was taken to uphold the objectives of these walks. Now, with the spectre of COVID-19 over us, the public can’t go on these walks. “The conservation exercise will be carried out by the forest department staff and volunteers of Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN). As social distancing is crucial, we don’t want a big collection of people to do this work. So, instead of two slots, the forest officials and SSTCN volunteers will be divided into very small groups and do the conservation work in four time slots,” explains Padma. This olive ridley turtle nesting season is said to have gotten off to a late start, beginning only in mid-January, and it is now in its crucial stage. It is indeed heartening to note that the Coronavirus has not been able to stop this annual conservation exercise.
