Every morning before the city wakes up, a silent army of over 14,355 sanitation workers begins their day sweeping roads, collecting garbage door-to-door and ensuring that Pune stays clean and livable.
The cleaning staff includes 6,000 Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) staffers, 3,800 SWaCH workers (authorised by PMC) and 4,555 contract-based workers who handle everything from doorstep waste collection to transferring it to recycling centres.
Cleaning the garbage dumped with a foul odour is not easy for them. Every worker has their own story of hardship, challenges and silent commitment.
Mangal Suresh Jagdale (54), who resides at Gultekdi, works as a door-to-door waste picker. Speaking to The Free Press Journal, she said, "I have been working for the last 20 years as a waste picker. Our daily routine is set from 7am to 9pm. In the beginning, it was very challenging, but now it’s a part of our habit."
"This is the only source of my survival. My daughter-in-law passed away a few years back. I work for her children. Our expectations are not much, but we hope that the PMC helps a little bit with their education and my granddaughter's marriage," she added.
Mukesh Borse, another worker, highlighted, "I love the work I do, but people see us as just ‘kachra waale’. We also deserve respect in society, but people don’t give it. This is the kind of work where we rarely take a day off. I have missed family functions and festivals, but never missed my duty."
Aarti Kale, a sanitation worker, said, "Once my daughter asked me to leave sanitation work because of the bad smell. It was a very emotional moment. But I told her with pride that your mother helps keep the city clean."
Prateek Ojha, another worker from Kondhwa, said, "Sometimes our gloves tear, and we still have to pick up broken glass or diapers. No one sees the cuts or infections, but still, we do not get frustrated with our work. We urge the civic body to increase our salaries for a better livelihood."
Sandeep Kadam, Head of Solid Waste Management, speaking to this newspaper, said, "In Pune city, approximately 23-24 tonnes of waste is collected per month by these workers and sent for recycling. The 6,000 cleaning staff appointed by PMC are paid a salary of ₹21,000 per month. However, the others are dependent on the quantity of garbage collected and a fixed rate from each household."
