At a recent discussion organised by Choolaimedu Exnora Innovators Club on ‘Waste Pickers - The Nation’s Wealth Makers’, Kasturi Rangan, Secretary of the club reeled out some facts and figures which made the Mayor Subramaniam admit that the rag pickers did deserve some recognition.

The club urged the Mayor to categorise the waste pickers as vital service providers, giving all of them a photo identity and regular health checkup for them and their families at the Corporation.

Kasturi Rangan said there was an estimated three to five lakh waste pickers and most of them stayed in railway platforms earning Rs 200 to Rs 400 a day.

He said though the waste pickers contributed a lot to the recycling industry, they did not find a place in the source segregation of garbage. “Besides facing respiration related health problems, they do not have any co-operative societies to hear to their grievances, “ he said.

Responding to the club’s plea, the Mayor said, “We changed their name from ‘thupuravu thozhilalar’ to ‘thuimai thozhilalar.’ We also changed their uniforms besides giving permanent jobs to 2028 temporary workers in one day.” The Mayor promised that the government would take steps to issue smart cards to waste pickers very soon.

He said the Corporation workers did equally a neat job when compared to the private Neel Metal Fanalca. The government spent Rs 20 crores to buy 80 compacters to collect garbage.

The Mayor noted that though the waste pickers played a part in clearing the garbage for recycling, many picked only what they wanted and dropped the rest out of the bins making the street trashed.