The Indian Express               29.04.2013

The jury still out on sweet uses of jaggery for sanitation workers

Is distribution of jaggery among sanitation workers beneficial to their health? Even as there is no unanimity on the issue, the long-drawn process in the Municipal Corporation has ensured that the agenda for approval of budget for procuring jaggery has not been approved for close to a year.

Distribution of jaggery among sanitation workers and industrial workers at some places is a traditional practice. The same was practised in the city before the Municipal Corporation came into existence. The practice was later discontinued. However, since May last year, the practice has been started again. While for several months jaggery was distributed, it was decided that financial approval be sought to purchase it for the next six months. An amount of Rs 3.05 lakh would be spent on procuring around 70 quintals of jaggery.

Medical Officer of Health Dr B K Salwan, who gave his opinion in favour of distribution of jaggery to the Municipal Commissioner, says, "The sanitation workers are functioning in such conditions that they suffer from hypoglycemia. It means that the blood sugar levels reduce drastically. Also, due to handling garbage, they suffer from problems like worm infestation. I recommended that jaggery should be distributed among the sanitation workers to improve their health."

However, doctors at the premier hospitals in the city hold different opinion. Dr Rajesh Kumar, head of School of Public Health, PGIMER, maintains it is just a traditional belief. "Jaggery is of no help against dust. It is simply a practice that has been going on for years. It is a good source of iron like several other food items," he says.

A senior doctor at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, says there are no benefits of distributing jaggery among sanitation workers as is believed. While jaggery can be distributed, there is no way of ensuring that it is eaten regularly, he adds.

At present, every sanitation worker is entitled to one kilo jaggery every month. When the agenda was proposed in the MC House, the councillors demanded that the quantity should be increased to five kilos. In fact, the issue received support across party lines, with each party making attempts to outdo the other in support of the proposal. Several rounds of discussion were held on the issue. This, however, did not receive administrative approval.

The approval for purchase of one kilo jaggery for every sanitation worker every month was received in April last year. The tenders were called after almost a year and a final decision would now be taken by the Finance and Contract Committee of the MC.

Councillor Arun Sood, who is a member of the F&CC, says, "From September onwards, jaggery is not being distributed affecting the health of the sanitation workers. Instead of five kilos that we had raised the demand for, not even one kilo is being given. Bureaucratic rigmarole has ensured that the proposal has been doing the rounds for a year. Jaggery negates the effect of dust that the sweepers work in."