Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Friday launched a 15-day awareness campaign, Aaingata Safei, Surakhita Safei Abhiyan (Legal Sanitation, Safe Sanitation), to enhance efforts for the safety, dignity, and recognition of sanitation workers.
The August 15–31 campaign seeks to reinforce the ‘GARIMA’ programme, ensuring sanitation workers’ safety and welfare.
It mandates the use of protective gear and mechanised equipment for those engaged in sewerage and septic tank cleaning, in line with legal guidelines.
At the launch event, BMC Mayor Sulochana Das, Commissioner Chanchal Rana, Housing and Urban Development Additional Secretary Durgesh Nandini Sahoo, Garima programme head Rashmita Patel, and other dignitaries stressed the need for legal compliance and safe working conditions for sanitation workers.
Officials cautioned that employing untrained or unregistered workers, or using unauthorised vehicles for septic tank cleaning, violates the law and endangers lives. Citizens were urged to avoid hiring untrained workers for such tasks.
The public was urged to report instances of sanitation workers cleaning septic tanks or sewer lines without protective gear by calling the toll-free number 14420.
To mark the launch, a decorated awareness chariot was flagged off to spread the campaign’s message across the City.
PNN
