Crèches would be arranged for the children of conservancy workers, Collector K. Vijayakarthikeyan said on Saturday after images of a child, purportedly that of a conservancy worker in Tiruppur Corporation, standing inside a dustbin, went viral on social media.

He said that he had instructed Tiruppur Corporation Commissioner K. Sivakumar to set up facilities at the ward/zone-level for employees. “I have asked the Corporation Commissioner to inquire and report [on this incident],” he told The Hindu.

Mr. Sivakumar said that temporary arrangements for crèches would be made depending on feasibility. “We will also ask the conservancy workers not to bring their children to work henceforth,” he said.

Sources at Tiruppur Corporation said that the woman, around 37 years old, was a contract worker. Hence, her details were not readily available with the Corporation. She was from north India and does not speak Tamil, sources said. Her daughter, who was standing in the dustbin, was said to be three years old, according to a preliminary inquiry conducted by the officials on Saturday.

The work hours of conservancy workers are between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m., during which all of them would be wearing masks, gloves and protective jackets as part of precautionary measures.

The photographs that went viral were taken after work hours and she must have removed the gloves and jacket, sources claimed. There was no shortage of gloves and other protective equipment for conservancy workers who are working amid the COVID-19 pandemic, sources said.