SRINAGAR: Safai Karamchari (sanitation staffers) associated with Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) have been critical of the corporation for failing to provide them necessary equipment, saying it is difficult for them to perform their duties.
As per the official figures of the SMC, the corporation has 3200 sweepers , with most of them having to manage their daily work using the rundown equipment or many having to even repair them with their own expenses.
Union president of Safai Karmchari Ghulam Mohammad Solina said that the staffers lack vital equipment and the corporation is not heeding to our demands,
“Most of our hand carts that are used to collect and transport waste generated from the houses or streets are damaged.
“We are repairing them with our own expenses and even some are lacking with them, he said, adding that many don’t even have the brooms as basic equipment for us.
He said while adding that we have approached officials to repair the hand carts, or provide us new one but it seems they are not paying heed to our issues,” he added
Aa group of sanitation workers told Kashmir Reader that while Srinagar ranked 36th among the cleanest cities in India, this due to the hard work of sanitary workers who are improving the ranking by being dedicated to conducting effective sanitation as well in current situation of COVID-19 pandemic but ironically lack the basic equipment,”
“Everytime we cannot buy with our expenses, authorities must take this issues very seriously,” said a group of workers
Chief Sanitation officer, Mudasir Banday told kashmir Reader that issues will be solved in coming days
” Due to the pandemic and internet issues in the valley we were not able to fix the contract and issue the tenders, now the issues has been resolved and we have fix the contract in the coming days sanitation workers will receive their basic equipments,”

NAZIMA SIDIQ