About 500 sanitation workers to be trained for health safety

Pune, November 25, 2019: Considering that Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) workers engaged in sanitation and drainage cleaning have to work under hazardous conditions, Rotary Club of Pune South and Stihl India have  initiated a behavioral change training  programme for 500 sanitation workers. The programme aims at creating a sense of self-respect and pride among these workers and making them aware of the importance of their health and  safety and the ways to protect the same. The  training is being given by KAM foundation who are the domain experts in the field.

As a part of this initiative, 150 sanitation workers were provided with the safety kit at a programme held today at Indradhanushya Centre of PMC. The kits included protective equipment like gloves, goggles, jacket and gumboots for the workers to use while on field work. The health safety training will involve 5 days of classroom and on-field training which will focus on their occupational safety, importance of use of personal protective equipment and personal hygiene.

Dignitaries including Parind Prabhudesai, MD, Stihl India, Shobhit Bahel, Head, Marketing & Product Management, Stihl India, Hetal Raval, HR Manager, Stihl India, Abhijit Joag, President, Rotary Club of Pune, Dyaneshwar Molak, Jt. Commissioner, Dept. of Solid Waste Management, PMC, Smita Singh, CEO, Kam Foundation, Manohar Krishna, Advisor, Kam Foundation, Dr. Ketki Ghatge, Medical Officer, Solid Waste Management, PMC and Mangesh Dhige, Environment Officer, PMC were present at the event.Speaking at the event, Abhijit Joag said, “Just like our soldiers who protect the border or farmers who bring prosperity to the nation with their hard work, the ‘swachhata sainiks’ or sanitation workers too take the efforts to keep the city clean, which however is considered as an inferior job. So, to empower these workers we have taken the initiative to conduct training programs for the next five years which is aimed at giving them self respect and bringing about behavioral change in their work and life.”

Parind Prabhudesai stated, “We agreed with the viewpoint of Rotary that the sanitation workers must be trained for avoiding health hazards and must be helped to gain a sense of pride in their work. So we decided to fund this project with all our heart.”

Dyaneshwar Molak stated, “Punekars produce 21,00 metric tonne of waste everyday out of which 1,500 metric tonne is processed in 57 plants with the help of 15,000 workers. Accordingly, we are planning to set up 5 more plants in future. It is our aim to make Pune city self-sufficient in terms of garbage processing, so that no waste will be sent to Uruli-Phursungi after December 31. We will process all waste in Pune from January 1, 2020.”