MCT to transform scavengers’ colony

Tirupati: It is sad that that the pilgrim city’s amazing growth in education, health and infrastructure like rail road and air facilities has failed to change the face of Scavengers Colony also known as Yanadi Colony.

Most of the health workers, who are residing in the colony, belong to the caste of a tribal sect and were employed in the civic body.

The colony came up some fifty years back on a 5.3 acre land near a burial ground away from the town then now centre of the city, to shelter about 80 families (scavengers) working in Tirupati municipality to take manual scavenging also (that was still in vogue at that time) to upkeep and maintenance of drainage etc in the town.

Though there were some changes like cement concrete roads, lighting, drainage in the colony and improvements ushered in the lives of the health workers (scavengers) with LPG connection for cooking, TVs and two-wheelers with the salary hike, their condition overall not seen development which was evident with the third generation also forced to join with them or to take up menial works in the city.

The colony now surrounded by posh areas with high rise buildings and commercial establishments and wide roads while in the rest of the city, 10 universities and many more institutions came up as city fast developed into corporation but it still remains an anathema.

Meanwhile, with the passage of time the families grew up to 300-350 and were absorbed in the corporation work that increased manifold due to rapid expansion of the city, thanks to the increase in pilgrim flow.

The illiterate scavengers coupled with ignorance saw their children also dumped in the same abhorrent job as they could not find anything better than this for them while the off springs too settled in it as it was known to them as their parents were in it since their birth.

The increase in the number saw the families extend the single room tenements adding a temporary room attached to the original ones to meet the need of additional accommodation for their grownups, making the colony and houses more crammed and shabby adding to their woes.

Many including municipal chairman and commissioner served the civic body tried in vain to rebuild the colony. A 50-year-old Venkataiah whose father late Govindaiah and wife Subbamma also health workers while his son was also recently forced to join as a health worker after he failed to get a job reveal the pathetic condition of the Yanadis (tribal) working as corporation sanitation workers.

It is our own fault said Venkataiah and Ankaiah another health worker from the colony. “We failed to see our children get good education even though facilities were abundant in city,’’ they said reflecting not only their failure but also the system in providing an environment in the colony for the children to develop to make them fit in the tough competitive world.

B Tulasendra, TMC health workers union leader, who is also long associated with the residents, was candid enough to admit that the civic body as well as the leaders like him never thought of providing facilities like crèche and nursery in the colony to lead the children for a better life.

“As both husband and wife engaged in sanitation work, they take their children with them, early in the morning as no one to look after them,” he explained. A ray of hope for these workers languishing for generations in filth and waste was MCT recently decided to take up a housing project under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

TMC commissioner Vinay Chand said that the tender document is ready and it will be sent to cabinet for approval after which the private concern will be identified to take up multi-storey building for the 350 families.

Vinay Chand was instrumental in finalising project surmounting many hurdles including convincing the workers and their leaders, who were all these years averse to the new proposal.

They were recently taken to Mumbai were a similar colony of 22 floor housing built with latest facilities by the corporation for its workers impacted them to agree for the housing project. If the project is completed it will be a light at the end of a tunnel as per as the Yanadis, a senior official said.