Indian Express 11.03.2010
On Waste-pickers’ Day, CEPT prof urges AMC to ensure workers’ safety
Express News Service Tags : CEPT, amc, waste pickers day Posted: Thursday , Mar 11, 2010 at 0434 hrs
Ahmedabad: Professor C N Roy of the Centre for Environment Planning and Technology (CEPT) today said the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) should spend money on hazardless picking of waste.He reasoned waste-pickers shored up 300 tonnes of the total 2,400 tonnes of waste generated in the city and the money saved could be used for the purpose.
Addressing a conference of around 1,500 waste-pickers of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) to mark Waste-pickers’ Day, Prof Roy said the AMC should use the money saved for providing waste-pickers safety equipment to prevent them from occupational hazards. The day is observed throughout the country under the Alliance of the Waste-pickers’ Network (AWAN) of which SEWA is a member. “Waste-pickers should also be given an identity for their work,” he said.
Waste-pickers from different areas, including Amraiwadi, Rakhiyal, Hatkeshwar, Gomtipur, Vasna, Odhav and Vadaj, presented their problems while Manali Shah of SEWA elaborated the objective of the meet.
Social researcher Prof Ghanshyam Shah, chief guest on the occasion, emphasised that the work of door-to-door collection should be given only to traditional waste-pickers and their cooperatives.
He also said the corporation should involve waste-pickers as an integral part of the solid waste management process.
