Pourakarmikas’ wait for houses under govt scheme is unending

Are forced to live in slums in awful conditions

By Vindhya Pabolu

The people who ensure the streets of Bengaluru are clean do not have their own houses.Pourakarmikasare still struggling for basic amenities like water, sanitation and housing. With no choice, they end up living in slums on rent.

Fathima, employed in BBMP’s segregation department, lives in the Pantharapalya slum with her three sons and her aged mother, paying a monthly rent of Rs 2,500.After her husband left her, Fathima has worked for BBMP for more than 20 years. She still awaits a house to be sanctioned under the state government’s Gruha Bhagya Scheme.

“I applied long back but still haven’t received any documents about a house being sanctioned. I submitted all my documents back in 2002,” Fathima shared.

Explaining her family situation, she said: “I have three sons. I have to get them married. I myself don’t have a house.Who will give their daughters to my sons, who don’t have financial support? It’s an extremely tough situation for us to through.”

According to a Hindureport, a total of 16,000 pourakarmikas workunder BBMP.

An All-India Central Council of Trade Unions tweet said BBMP is responsible for constructing and maintaining reside

Pourakarmikasare still struggling for basic amenities like water, sanitation and housing. With no choice, they end up living in slums on rent | Credit: to stay. After marriage, all of them will move on to lead their individual lives. What about them at that time? Should they continue to live in slums?”

The Observer noticed that the house they are living in is 15 feet in length and 7 feet in breadth. The house has a small living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, and a washroom. The house does not have any facility for drinking water. The area smells like stagnant water and rotten eggs. The water they use has dust and algae floating on its surface;shirt buttons have sunk to its bottom. The tank in which the water is stored is rusted and smells musty. The walls were covered with gutka stains.

People The Observer interviewedsaid they walk about 2km daily to buy drinking water. Rarely do municipal water tankers come to the slums.

As per a Hindustan Times report, pourakarmikas raised slogans during their state-wide indefinite strike demanding regularization of their services, dignified working conditions, post-retirement benefits, and other welfare measures.

2007, we came to know from our senior officials that we could get a house, so I applied for it. We still haven’t received anything so far. Our head did not respond to our complaints. It was five years ago that a group of people conducted a survey, collected all our information and copies of our Aadhaar cards, and disappeared. We are still waiting for the reply from the authorities.”

Salma, Shahima’s 22-year-old daughter, said: “I grew up watching her struggle to feed me. Due to our financial condition, I had to stop going to school. Since then, I have got married, and my children have started to go to school, but my mother still has not received a house. We still live in a rented house.If she gets the house she applied for, she can save the money she is paying for rent. This will allow her to save for her future needs.”

Wonders of the World

ntial quarters for pourakarmikas in accordance with Section 58(24) of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976. This has been violated by BBMP. The violation of the mandate was sanctioned in the year of 2020 BBMP Act, which deleted this provision and made no mention of houses for pourakarmikas. anywhere in the mandate.

Fathima’s mother Zareena, who was once a pourakarmika, agitatedly said: “I have five children, all working in BBMP. One house will suffice for all of us to

In a series of tweets, former chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah said: “Our government constructed houses for 3,165 pourakarmika beneficiaries under Pourakarmika Vasathi Gruha Bhagya Scheme. We also ensured housing for the remaining eligible beneficiaries through other housing schemes.”

Zareena’s friend Shahima, another pourakarmika, applied for a house along with Fathima but hasn’t received one yet.

Shahima,46, a single mother, who works in the plastic segregation section at Rajarajeshwari Nagar, shared: “I have worked since 1997 under BBMP. In

The state government launched the Gruha Bhagya Yojanafor permanent pourakarmikas who had completed 10 years of service. Under it, a house with an area not exceeding 500 sqft will be constructed with 80 per cent financial assistance from the state government. The balance is to be borne by the beneficiary. The houses will be constructed on land owned by the urban local body.

Shahina further said: “You can check with my details whether I was alloted house from the BBMP or not. If you are not able to trust my words check it by yourself. There is nothing from my end to hide I can give you my details you want like identity card, allotment letters etc .”

If a pourakarmika owns a site, BBMP will give him/her financial assistance to builda house.

Santhosh P, assistant executive engineer,solid waste man- agement, BBMP, said: “We already gave houses to permanent staff. The BBMP is working on this. At the moment, we are dividing them into batches. At present, 3,100 people have been taken in and we are still considering taking a few more.”

The official remained silent when asked when the houses promised would be given to pourakarmikas.

Pourakarmikas are fighting for other issues like an increase in salary. According to a Times of India report, in his last budget, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai announced pourakarmikas would be paid Rs 2,000 monthly as a hardship allowance. But activists claim that pourakarmikas are getting this allowance intermittently, while many are not even aware of this provision.

Shanth Kumar, who lives in a slum and has been in touch with pourakarmikas, informed The Observer that he has not received any information regarding the scheme.

Venkat Ramana Iyer, managing trustee of the Swabhimaan Trust, shared: “Pourakarmikas deserve more than they have now. Imagine the pourakarmikas not cleaning our city for one week. The city will sink in garbage. they are improtant. Most of them are women. Governmentshould provide themhouses at the very least…. But the pourakarmikas have to fight and win their own battle.”

Fathima and Shahima stillhope that one day they will receive the promised house. They do not want it for them but for their children. “We hope that the lives of our children will be filled with happiness. If we get a house, our children can have something for them.” vindhya.p@iijnm.org

Located on the banks of the Malaprabha River, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a testament to the richness of Chalukyan architecture during the 7th and 8th centuries and is renowned for its intricately chiselled temples. The temples in Pattadakal bear testimony to the richness and timeless splendour of the Chalukyan architecture. It has a cluster of 10 major temples, which showcase some striking architectural features. The world-famous geographer Ptolemy (150 AD) has documented the town as “Perti gal”. It was even used as the ceremonial centre where kings were crowned and commemorated. Pattadakal has temple architecture from Dravidian, Aryan and a mixture of both styles in its temple complex; probably making it the only one of its kind in India. There is a sculpture gallery maintained by Archeological Survey of India within the Pattadakal temple complex.

Source: Karnataka Tourism

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From 1912 to 1948, the Olympic Games held competitions in the fine arts. Medals were given for literature, architecture, sculpture, painting, and music. Naturally, the art created was required to be Olympic-themed. According to the founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Frédy, the addition of the arts was necessary because the ancient Greeks used to hold art festivals alongside the games. Before the art events were eventually removed, 151 medals were awarded.

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