IMC's sweepers toil hard to keep Imphal clean
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 23 2016 :
Sweepers under the Imphal Municipal Council work between 3am to 7 am everyday to ensure that the city dwellers wake up to clean streets everyday.
Not everyday goes quite and undisturbed for these workers.
Khumbongmayum Tamphasana, a contract sweeper under IMC in an exclusive interview with The Sangai Express today said the workers are exposed to chiding and foul mouthing by passers-by.
While some complain of the dust emanating from sweeping the grounds, some call them unlucky.
These sweepers play important role in keeping the Khwairamband market clean.
While the workers perform their task regularly, women vendors allegedly throw their refuses directly into the drains and on the streets.
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The sweepers have come across such acts many a times and have even made the vendors clean up the mess or fined them as per the IMC rule, she said.
IMC pays these contract sweepers Rs 5000 per month and Rs 3,663 for the muster roll.
Altogether, 77 sweepers are employed under the IMC out of which 20 are regular, 56 in muster roll and one on contract basis, IMC Assistant Engineer Ch Meneka told TSE.
IMC imposes a fine of Rs 200 on people littering the streets under the IMC Cleanliness and Sanitation by Law 2011.Last year, the Department collected over Rs 1,30,000 as fine for littering.
The department works in close co-ordination with associations and NGOs like CRED, WUM, SSF, TACDEF, KWAMS, SUWO.
IMC in association with few of these NGOs have begun engaging sweepers in the evening hours in a bid to keep Imphal city clean, Meneka stated.