MYSURU: As part of its efforts to bag the Safaimitra Suraksha award, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has come out with a design for the uniforms for underground drainage (UGD) workers, and is awaiting approval from the central government for the same. If the Centre gives its nod, UGD workers in the city will have blue uniforms.
Currently, all civic workers, both the pourakarmikas and the safaikarmacharis wear khaki uniforms. MCC and 11 other civic agencies have submitted proposals to the Centre seeking a nod for the design of the respective uniforms for UGD workers.
The Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge is an initiative launched by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs aimed at improving sanitation and hygiene in urban centres. Urban centres have been classified into three categories, and each city is being rated on a score of 1,000.
AS Ranjith Kumar, assistant executive engineer with the UGD wing of the MCC, confirmed to TOI that the civic agency had submitted a proposal for the design of uniforms for its safiakarmacharis to the Union ministry. “We are being ranked for core parameters and eco-system parameters, accounting for 700 and 300 marks respectively,” he said.
Mechanised cleaning includes a group of core parameters classed such as equipment and infrastructure used by the personnel to undertake cleaning of the pipes. This accounts for 400 marks. Consequently, the MCC thinks that a uniform would help the agency improve its score in this category.
There are 231 safaikarmacharis in Mysuru city working round-the-clock to keep the drains clean. In a bid to be able to readily identify the workers, a uniform has been proposed. The UGD network in the city extends across a length of 2,500km, with 62,000 manholes. The MCC said that any complaint about the UGD network would be attended within six hours.
The MCC is determined to leverage advanced technology to keep the drains clean.