AMONG the many vital lessons that people have learned in the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic is the critical importance of sanitation. As sanitising has become an indispensable part of life, the important position of sanitation workers in the fight against the virus, too, has been realised by the society.Sanitationworkershaveproved to be the backbone of the response to thehealthcrisis.Beithospitals,COVID19 wards, containment zones, streets, societies,coloniesorpublicplaces,these ‘unsung heroes’ are everywhere. No matterthe lockdown, curfeworrestrictions due to cases surge, these frontline workers always show up without fail, keeping others’ well being first.

 

“Definitely, it is risky as we don’treally know what we are dealing with but we take utmost care and do our job,” admitsArunaBrahmankar,asanitation worker with the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). A mother of three children, she feels no work is small or big but what matters is how it is done. She lauds the ‘Swachhta Abhiyan’ and says it has helped change people’s mindset towards ‘Safai Karmacharis’. “There is still a bunch of people who look down upon us and throw litter on a cleaned lane and argue with us saying that it’s your job to clean the trash and you are paid for this,” laments Aruna. Manysanitation workers canbeseen without adequate safety gearand working in hazardous conditions.

 

“Wedonot haveproperuniform,shoes,gloves,sanitizers and we are exposed to all kinds of waste daily. The best we can do is self-hygiene before and after work,” reveal two contractual sanitation employees, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Since loudspeakers of many doorto-door garbage collection vehicles are out of order, we are compelled to use the whistle by removing our masks to let people know that we are here,” the employees added. The duo is still waiting for vaccination against the COVID-19. “We do our job with sincerity and follow the protocol but we feel sad as we have no security cover if anything happens to us.

 

We want people to stay safe as we are on the field risking our very existence but we do it with a sense of pride as we are doing our bit to beat the pandemic,” both the workers assert. Many sanitation workers come in direct contact of danger while working in the COVID-19ward. Says Amol Kapse, a sanitationemployee working oncontract in Government Medical College’s COVID-19ward,“DealingwithCOVID19 patients on everyday basis is risky and unsafe but we have the responsibility to look after them. We feel dejected when all our efforts prove in vain and patients lose life. Sometimes we just have do our bit and leave things to destiny.” Sanitary Inspector at the GMCH, Sanket Salankar says, “Contribution of Class IVemployees inthis crisis isenormous.

 

Right from changing patients’ diapers, chargingtheirphonesandtaking care of their minutest needs is not aneasy job.They look afterthepatients like family members. Many families abandon their loved ones but the staff patiently handles every situation without a single complaint. It feels like a jawan on the war front and we surely are going to win this one with our determined efforts.” Despite their yeoman service, the front-line workers keep on working without any expectation or praise from the society. The least one can do is change one’s attitude and hail them as the ‘Safai Walas’ and not the ‘Kachra Walas’.