The New Indian Express 06.12.2010
Narikuravas earn respect, money
Over 100 Narikurava families had settled in Madambakkam 60 years ago. In 2008, the town panchayat called for those in the tribe who wished to work on a regular basis.
They employed 30 Narikuravas, 15 of them women, and trained them to pick garbage door-to-door and segregate them as recyclable and non-recyclable wastes. Working for eight hours, starting 6 am, these employees cover over 5000 houses in 15 wards in an area of about 8.2 sqkm.
The panchayat has given the Narikuravas 15 tricycles in which to collect and transport the garbage.
While the men pull the tricycle and blow a whistle outside every house, the women collect the garbage from the house owner.
“Three years ago, we used to hunt birds. People never used to approach us as they thought we were very shabby. Now, they give us food and coffee when we go to their houses. We have learnt to keep ourselves clean,” said 30-year-old Kumar, who covers about 250 houses a day.
The Narikuravas then wait at a designated point with the garbage they have collected, from where panchayat-run lorries take the garbage to the dumping yard.
Each person gets paid Rs 2500 a month besides making up to Rs 100 a day from selling plastic wastes.
“I used to work at iron workshops. Now, most of us make more money than we used to and it is regular. People have started looking at us with respect. Our people at home still sell beads and now we get extra money,” said 25-year-old Bhommi.
The town panchayat has entrusted the supervision of the working Narikuravas to four women from a woman self-help group, who also collect Rs 20 per house to pay for Narikuravas’ salary.
“They are punctual and they help keep garbage off the roads. People respect them so much that I get a call when they don’t go to a house at a particular time. We are also getting them loans under the Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing the Urban Poor, to build houses on patta land they have received from the government. They can repay the loan over time,” said Mallika Mohan, chairman, Madambakkam Town Panchayat.
