PUNE: Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) workers engaged in sanitation and drainage cleaning have to work under hazardous conditions and hence Rotary Club of Pune South and Stihl India have initiated a behavioural 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, which is a domain expert in the field.
As a part of this initiative, 150 sanitation workers were provided with safety kit at a programme held on Monday at Indradhanushya Centre of Pune Municipal Corporation.
The kits included protective equipment like gloves, goggles, jacket and gumboots for the workers to use while on fieldwork. The health safety training will involve 5 days of classroom and on-field training which will focus on their occupational safety, the importance of the use of personal protective equipment and personal hygiene.
Dignitaries including Parind Prabhudesai, MD, Stihl India, Shobhit Bahel, Head, Marketing & Product Management, Stihl India, Abhijit Joag, President, Rotary Club of Pune, Dnyaneshwar Molak, Jt Commissioner, Department of Solid Waste Management, Pune Municipal Corporation, Smita Singh, CEO, Kam Foundation, Manohar Krishna and others were present at the event.
Speaking at the event, Abhijit Joag said, “Swachhata sainiks or sanitation workers take efforts to keep the city clean, which is considered an inferior job. So, to empower these workers we have taken the initiative to conduct training programmes for the next five years to give them self-respect and bring about behavioural change in their work and life.”
Dnyaneshwar Molak stated, “Punekars produce 2,100 metric tonnes waste every day, out of which 1,500 metric tonnes is processed in 57 plants with the help of 15,000 workers. We aim to make Pune city self-sufficient in terms of garbage processing.”
Stihl India MD Parind Prabhudesai said, “We agree with the viewpoint of Rotary that the sanitation workers must be trained to avoid 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.”
