ITANAGAR, Aug 17: There are two dumping grounds in the outskirts of the city, where garbage are disposed or unloaded. The stench is unbearable at the site, besides due to incessant rainfall for last few months in the capital complex; the dumping grounds are now filled to capacity making the job even more physically demanding and hazardous. Clearing garbage is back breaking work.

Irrespective of simmering heat or pouring rain, Rakesh and his team of five members pick up garbage and unload the truck at the dumping ground every day from 4 am onwards. These workers are the foundation of the Itanagar Municipal Council (IMC), one can only imagine the plight of the capital if they are not there to manage it.

‘We are working with our bare arms and legs. No anti-bacterial medicines are provided to us and the gloves and raincoats provided by IMC recently have worn out,’ he said. He sports several scars caused by shards of glasses over his legs and hands, tell-tale of his struggle. But a pair of gloves and a raincoat was provided to these sanitation workers after repeated pleas and after passage of five years.

Rakesh, an orphan, is among the 145 sanitation workers engaged in or hired by the urban department (now handed over to IMC) in 2013 to manage the ever accumulating garbage in the capital complex—a humongous task by all means. Their normal work sees contact with animal carcasses, food leftovers, hospital waste, broken glasses and blades etc. The inhuman working condition with the sheer overlooking of protective work gear has made this workforce vulnerable to a myriad of infections and problems.

There are obligatory rules to be a sanitation worker— that he must learn survival skills such as lifting trash safely, operating a variety of machinery, avoiding getting cut or poisoned or crushed— all while looking out for each other. In other states, workers are being given protective suits to avoid body contact with contaminated or toxic substances, which may cause several health consequences. But it’s a cruel joke to mention here that the sanitation workers in the capital complex are generally seen working without gloves and boots and having no proper vocational training for the profession, which is considered to be the most essential part for survival of a sanitary worker. Thus, putting the lives of these innocent people close to death every day.

To take stock of their daily lives, this reporter also visited the homes and colony of these people near Senki River popularly known as “karamchari colony” provided by UD department. It won’t be wrong to blame the authority for their miserable, unhygienic living and dismal housing facilities provided to them, which is not more than a cowshed.

Rakesh also informed that most of his co-workers are alcoholic and living with depression due to poverty.  ‘Our sizable part of income disappears in to the liquor shop and the only people on whom we can vent our frustration are the women and children at home,’ he said. By the time the workers reach home, alcohol consumes all of them. ‘Abusing wives and children is a regular activity at home,’ he says adding that when the husbands die, the despised job passes on to the wife or their children and the cycle of despair continues.

Most contingency workers like us are perpetually in debt earning a mere Rs 4000 to Rs 4500 salary per month, he said. Even managing the household affairs become difficult for us, with the money we receive. Therefore, giving good education and better career for our children is out of our limits.

When asked about the grievances being faced by the workers, Chief municipal executive officer (CMEO) IMC, Habung Lampung, informed that during his tenure, despite all limitations, he has tried everything within his capacity for the welfare for the workers. ‘After repeated request from the workers, I also provided them with gloves and boots, along with a raincoat and mask last April ’, he said but conceded that he is unaware of the living conditions of the workers and assured to look into their untold misery.