After travelling four times to West Bengal for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, many sanitation workers employed through private contractors and agencies linked to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) were removed from the garbage collection work, with contractors saying their repeated absence was affecting daily waste collection across apartment complexes. Many others, meanwhile, have decided not to go, fearing job and wages loss.
Several workers, The Hindu spoke to, said they would not travel again for verification and were willing to take the risk, as repeated absence from work could cost them their jobs. “We do not have paid leave, and staying away for several days, even if on a contractual basis, means being replaced to ensure garbage collection continues, with no assurance of being taken back once we return,” Mohammed Mehroon, a garbage collector in Varthur, said.
Possible implications
Many other workers, however, acknowledged the dilemma, as failing to appear for verification could have wider consequences. “If a person’s name is removed, it can affect voting rights and create difficulties in proving residence and identity. For us labourers, removal from the list has wider problems, including accessing welfare schemes, ration cards, and other government benefits, which are already a challenge to access,” said Sameer Rahman, a garbage collector in Panathur.
