BMC workers have no protection, use bare hands to clean nullahs
City activists are keeping their eyes out on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to make sure the civic body conducts de-silting and cleaning of nullahs before the monsoon strikes in the city.
The activists of an NGO had witnessed the de-silting work of Krishna Nagar Nallah near the junction of Hotel Leela on Andheri Kurla Road in K East Ward when they saw women labourers cleaning nullahs without safety equipments.
“We were really appalled to see the working conditions of women labourers, who were seen carrying the filth with bare hands in plastic Ghamela (plastic bin) and storing it on road adjoining the nullah,” said Godfrey Pimenta, co-trustee of NGO Watchdog Foundation.
The filth was essentially more of plastic, sanitary pads, plastic containers of all hues and shapes. "The said filth had hundreds of inch-long worms which were seen moving around the mound of filth piled on the road. This poses a grave danger to their health and safety," added Pimenta.
The contract of the said desilting work had been awarded to Mona Enterprises. Pimenta also said there was neither a supervisor nor a concerned civic staff present to oversee the work of cleaning.
This women labourers who were engaged in cleaning the nullahs said they are suffering just to keep the city floating. "It is only when we work, the city and its people are safe. So even if it means cleaning the dirt with bare
“We were really appalled to see the working conditions of women labourers, who were seen carrying the filth with bare hands in plastic Ghamela (plastic bin) and storing it on road adjoining the nullah,” said Godfrey Pimenta, co-trustee of NGO Watchdog Foundation.
hands, we are ready to do it for the city," said a woman worker from the conservancy department. The activists demand better working conditions for labourers. "They work for us and the BMC gobbles up the credit. The least they can offer is proper equipments for their health safety," said Nicholas Almeida, another trustee of the NGO.