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Public Health / Sanitation

Local bodies asked to ban manual scavenging

Tuesday, 14 December 2010 02:48 administrator
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The Hindu     14.12.2010

Local bodies asked to ban manual scavenging

Special Correspondent
Violators will face imprisonment up to a year and a fine of Rs. 2, 000


J. Chandrakumar

SALEM: Collector J Chandrakumar has strictly told the officials from various local bodies in the district to ban manual scavenging in their towns and unions and enforce the provisions of the Manual Scavengers and Dry Latrine Construction (Prohibition) Act of 1993 in letter and spirit.

Private households

He told the officials at a meeting here on Monday that the inhuman practice of manual scavenging, if any in their localities, should be immediately discouraged and banned.

He further claimed that since a majority of the towns and cities had been undertaking the Underground Drainage scheme, necessary machinery would be used to clear the chocking in drainage channels.

He also warned the private households against engaging individuals to enter into their septic tanks for cleaning. Machines should be employed for sucking the waste and removing choking.

The ban should be strictly enforced in theatre halls, shopping complexes, wedding halls, hotels and other big business houses.

Machines

“Those who employ individuals for the work will be dealt with as per the law and if anything `serious happens,' the concerned would be prosecuted forthwith. He told the officials not to encourage individual scavenging and instead promote the machines for the purposes.

The Act stipulates imprisonment up to a year and fines up to Rs.2, 000 or both for those who are violating the same. Rights' activists say that manual scavenging is also considered violation of the fundamental rights of Article 14 (equality before law), Article 17 (abolition of untouchability) and Article 23 (right against exploitation).

Flood relief

The Collector also pointed out that the district had sought a sum of Rs 65 crore towards flood relief. Senior officials from the local bodies and Municipalities and others took part.

 

 

Lack of sanitation facilities plagues Elliot's beach

Friday, 10 December 2010 04:17 administrator
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The Hindu       10.12.2010

Lack of sanitation facilities plagues Elliot's beach

Staff Reporter
— Photo: M. Karunakaran

Eyesore: Litter spread across the Elliot's beach in Chennai on Thursday.

CHENNAI: S. Nithya (22), a resident of Odai Kuppam, hates to walk to the community toilet at one end of the beach, especially after it gets dark. There are 4,000 families in the area, mainly of fishermen and vendors, most of whom do not have toilets. For K. Balu, a plumber in the same area, the huge pile of garbage outside his hut is something he cannot get used to. “People come to clean once a month but only when it gets unbearable; they don't even leave the dustbins behind,'' he says.

The lack of sanitation facilities and dustbins in and around Elliot's beach has become a cause for concern not only for people who reside in the nearby hamlets, but also for many beach-lovers.

A waste audit conducted by Reclaim Our Beaches (ROB), a youth-led initiative, last month revealed at least 31,000 pieces of visible trash littering the beach, that included 1,161 pieces of glass sticking out of the sand, disposable cups and spoons and water sachets.

A survey among the beach users, by ROB, shows that an overwhelming majority demanded more bins to be placed and wanted the Corporation to build and maintain toilets near the beach.

The beach has just three dustbins, with two of them in the same area, and just one community toilet at one end, forcing people to often litter and urinate on the sands.

“The worst affected are vendors who spend most of the time on the beach,'' said H. Siddharth, an ROB member. S. Shankari, another member, said the ROB had sent a petition to the Chennai Corporation Commissioner seeking more public convenience and dustbins.

When contacted, Commissioner D. Karthikeyan said that the petition has been forwarded to the zonal officers and discussions were under way to identify the most appropriate locations to build toilets near the Elliots beach. Mass clearance programmes on the beach and nearby kuppams would also be organised shortly, he added.

 

Narikuravas earn respect, money

Monday, 06 December 2010 09:57 administrator
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The New Indian Express  06.12.2010

Narikuravas earn respect, money

CHENNAI: Narikuravas are known to lead a nomadic life by hunting birds and selling beaded ornaments. But in Madambakkam, they work for the town panchayat, picking garbage from houses and dumping them in the yard, earning a regular monthly salary and gaining respect from the locals.

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.

Last Updated on Monday, 06 December 2010 10:00
 
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