Guest workers show gratitude, clean up school-turned-shelter

Apr 27, 2020, 04:18 IST

Coimbatore: The lockdown might have taken people out of workplaces, but it has not taken away their will to work.
Setting an example for others, a group of guest workers have been cleaning the campus of a corporation school in the city, where they have been put up. Over the weeks, they have cleared weeds and grass from the children’s play area and school ground, and debris and garbage near the compound wall.
The guest workers from Chennai, Tirupur, Trichy, Madurai, Pudukottai, Sivaganga and Theni in the state and neighbouring Kerala were left homeless after their employers shunted them out following the lockdown. Employed at eateries and construction sites, they used to sleep on the premises of workplaces. When they were asked to leave, they camped on roadside in Sungam. There were around 53 of them.
However, police asked them to vacate the spot on April 1. A group of volunteers, meanwhile, came to their help and arranged them stay in a community hall in the city. Subsequently, they were moved to the corporation school in Varadarajapuram on April 5.
After settling down there in a couple of days, they started cleaning the campus, said G Vivek, a volunteer who takes care of them. “Around half of the 53 workers have been involved in the cleaning work.”
The guest workers said as they have been provided proper shelter and food, they wanted to do something in return. A R Prem Kanth, 39, of Chennai, who came to the city barely a week before the lockdown to lay tiles in an upcoming building, said the kids’ play area in the school was filled with weeds. “The area had slides, swings and other implements for small kids. We wanted to clean it for them.”
Prem said they divided themselves into a group of 10 and cleaned the play area, ground and a spot inside the campus where debris and garbage were dumped. “We also cleaned the toilets using phenyl and acid. We clean the campus regularly. When kids come back to school, they would be happy to see their campus clean.”
Vivek said they had rescued two rat snakes from the bushes during the cleaning drive. The workers are fed daily by officials and volunteers.