ISSUES OF CONCERN

Unsung Public Cleanliness Workers

They are the ‘foot soldiers’ of public cleanliness in the Silicon Valley of India. Unseen and unsung, they work tirelessly to clear the streets and the sidewalks of garbage, and keep other public amenities, including washrooms, clean. They impinge on public consciousness only when some lapse is noticed, but even then, those who complain little realize that the onus of responsible use of public amenities rests on the user first and foremost. Yet, Kanakamma and her ilk soldier on with determination.

“I came to Bengalooru from Villupuram in Neighbouring Tamil Nadu over 33 years ago, along with my parents and four younger siblings, recalls 47-year-old Kanakamma. “My mother fell ill and passed away, my father, a worker in the unorganized sector, became an alcoholic, and it was left to my maternal grandmother to raise us. As money was extremely scarce, my sister Maryamma and I did not get to go to school. Instead, we swept roads, collected and sold bits of paper, plastic milk sachets and other items found around large houses located near our low-income neighborhood in Bengalooru. Many of those living in the posh houses would hesitate to even give us water to drink,” she adds. On the face of it, Kanakamma’s adult working life and that of Maryamma are not different from their growing up years and, yet, there is a difference. The sisters now sort and sell dry waste at a collection centre run jointly with the Bruhat Bengalooru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP or Bengalooru Municipality). They work tirelessly, without even one day off in the week. But they are both active members of Hasiru Dala, which translates as Green Brigade, a collective of around 7000 waste pickers, 500 scrap dealers and people who manage 33 dry waste collection centres in Bengalooru.

Hasiru Dala members have equipped themselves with knowledge about fundamental rights and social entitlements. They have been campaigning for respect and dignified treatment by the state and society. They have also managed to enhance their financial status by integrating their work with the formal waste management sector, and negotiating returns collectively.

Kanakamma has one daughter while Maryamma has five children, including daughters Surya and Sonia. While 20 years old Surya discontinued her studies after completing primary school due to the poor economic condition of the family, Sonia, age 14, is a high school student at present.

The members of Hasiru Dala, who are largely socio-economically marginalized Dalits, meet on a regular basis to discuss and resolve their  common and individual challenges. They also organize awareness sessions where they learn about their rights and basic social elements such as a family ration card, voter identity card, health insurance under the Rashtriya Swastha Bima Yojana (RSBY), and the procedures associated with obtaining these documents.

“After Maryamma and I Joined Hasiru Dala, which we got to know through a co-worker, I received an identification card, an apron and gloves,” says Kanakamma. “My colleagues and I learnt about the need for garbage to be segregated at source. We provide garbage collection services to residents of apartment complexes and neighbourhoods. We educate the residents on the necessity and method of segregating trash. This saves us time and energy, and also minimizes the health hazards to which we are exposed, like respiratory and skin ailments. It also helps us maintain our self-respect.”

Krishna, in his late twenties, is another member of the Hasiru Dala. His family too migrated from neighboring Tamil Nadu. They are traditionally bone collectors, a group often referred to derogatively as chappar. Today, he manages a dry waste collection centre, jointly with a few others like him. “My mother, who had eight children, was employed in the informal sector and earned very little,” says Krishna.

“When I was around 12 years old, I started working as an errand boy for a shop keeper for around Rs 1800 a month. I starved on some days because there was no money at home to cook or buy a meal. Studying beyond class seven was impossible as I had to contribute to the household income and the quality of teaching in government schools was unsatisfactory while the cost of private education was high.”

Life became a bit easier after a social worker trained Krishna and his friend, not only in soft skills like the norms of conducting themselves in front of officials and people belonging to the upper strata of society, but also in managing money. With this training, Krishna found a job as a trash collector at a premier hotel in Begalooru. “A few years later, I heard that through Hasiru Dala, I could take charge of a dry waste collection centre which is operated in conjunction with the BBMP. In this role, I have learnt how to delegate tasks to people, manage finances, et al,” says Krishna. “I now earn enough for my family and am very happy that I am able to support my mother who worked very hard to raise our family”, he says proudly.

“Through Hasiru Dala, we recycle more than 665 tonnes of dry or inorganic waste every month,” explains Krishna. “We also send at least 150 tonnes of organic or wet waste for composting and run three Biogas plants in Bengaluru. We play a major role in diverting garbage from huge open dumps, recycling resources and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, thereby making the environment of the city less hazardous”.

The Hasiru Dala also provides housekeeping services to private firms, educational institution, hospitals and various other establishments. The members earn enough to give their children a reasonable education. This is significant because, traditionally, people employed as municipal cleaners, including those who clean public private spaces such as sewage canals and washrooms, have been trapped in the same profession for generations, unable to find the means to equip their children with either the academic qualifications or alternate skill to upgrade their lives.

Some of the waste pickers produce audio content about their lives, lively hood, labour rights and social entitlements, which is broadcast every week on Radio Active, a community radio station based in Bengalooru.

Roti Bank

A unique ‘roti bank’ has been launched in Aurangabad city for the poor. People can ‘deposit’ rotis here, and the poor, aged, sick or the unemployed people can ‘withdraw’ a basic fare of freshly-cooked rotis and a vegetarian or non-vegetarian dish.

The Roti Bank — first of its kind in Maharashtra and second in India after a similar venture in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh — was launched on December 5 by Yusuf Mukati, the founder of Haroon Mukati Islamic Centre (HMIC), on the busy Jinsi-Baijipura Road in the heart of the city.

“Over the years, I saw many poor people, especially Muslims, who can’t afford one square meal a day… The situation is pathetic in large families with just one bread-winner. But because they live a dignified life, they do not resort to begging,” Mukati said.

 Targetting many such poor and deprived families, the idea of a ‘Roti Bank’ crystallized — and the 38-year-old Mukati made it clear that beggars would not be entertained here. After discussing with his wife Kauser, and his four married sisters – Seema Shalimar, Mumtaz Memon, Shehnaz Sabani, Huma Pariyani — the ‘Roti Bank’ finally went ‘public’ with a modest 250 ‘depositors’ on December 5.  Initially, curious passers-by would stop to ask about it but feel delighted to see it was a noble initiative.  People have to fill up a form for Roti Bank’s membership.

“We allot them a specific code number. The request is simple — Simply deliver us a minimum of two freshly cooked rotis and a plate of vegetarian or non-vegetarian food that they prepare for family at home daily,” Mukati said.

The idea clicked and within a fortnight the membership shot up by nearly 25%, and Mukati — who runs a garment shop along with his realty consultancy — is optimistic it will double soon.

“The bank timings are 11 am to 11 pm. People can voluntarily ‘deposit’ their food, once a day or even more… Similarly, the poor people can come any time to collect the food as per their convenience and availability,” Mukati said.

 The unique bank provides special carry bags with a code number to each ‘depositor’ on receipt. It is checked for freshness and quality, and then disbursed to the lucky families daily.

“The membership is growing, and occasionally food deposits are also higher than expectations — So, on an average, we feed around 500 poor people daily,” Mukati said. He emphasized that over one-third of the donors and beneficiaries are non-Muslims and want to increase their contribution gradually “since food is the right of all human beings, irrespective of religion or financial status”.

As word spread about the noble venture, wedding organisers started dispatching the extra food left over due to guest absenteeism.  “Since launch, at least six Hindu wedding organizers sent us 50-60 plates of excellent vegetarian food and another dozen Muslim marriage organisers also sent a similar quantity of non-vegetarian fare,” he said.

“We store it separately in huge freezers with a capacity for 700 packets. The beneficiaries can take the food of their choice (veg/non-veg),” said Mukati while appealing to big restaurants, deluxe hotels, corporate and industrial canteens, flight kitchens and mega-event organisers to contribute their unconsumed, extra food for the Roti Bank.

He feels it will ensure there is “absolutely no wastage” of food anywhere any time in the city of 1.17 million population of which around 31% are Muslims.

Dwelling on the deplorable plight of Muslim women in the city, Kauser, his wife, said the divorce rates are very high, especially among young women.  She said the problem is acute – thousands of very young illiterate or semi-literate girls are pushed into marriage with much older men, and then divorced very soon. Their families borrow large amounts for marriages.

“These unfortunate girls, at times with tiny children, have no social security, nobody to house, feed or employ them,” said Kauser, who helps her husband in the Roti Bank venture.

In its own way, the Haroon Mukati Islamic Centre is contributing to women’s uplift with an academic centre for 2,000 girls in which they impart regular spiritual and vocational education in 15 different vocations, including yoga, fashion designing and computers.

“This equips the young girls with a capacity to earn a living and in case of any future problems, at least they will not starve or be driven to the road,” Kauser pointed out.

Incidentally, around 100 girl students from middle or upper-middle-class families have become Roti Bank members and contribute daily. It is disbursed among their less fortunate classmates.