Coronavirus in Chandigarh: Serving people in quarantine a risky job for waste collectors

Collection of waste from the houses of people who are home quarantined in Chandigarh due to perceived coronavirus threat seems a daunting task. But the job gets done everyday albeit with a lot of hardship and caution.

Everyday, 30 municipal corporation (MC) employees put their lives at risk and collect garbage from such houses, the number of which has increased to 700 in past two weeks.

MC executive engineer Rajinder Singh, who is monitoring 15 garbage collection teams deputed for these houses, said, “Although everyone is a little worried, all sanitation workers are given proper protection. The collection is going smoothly. We update our list everyday and depute the staff accordingly.”

MC supervisor dealing with collection, Atul Rana, explains that every worker is properly covered from head to toe in chemical suits at the time of garbage collection. Orange or green bags are used for collection from these households so that these are not mixed with other general waste.

“Every day at the time of collection, one empty bag is given and then a garbage-filled bag is taken from them. Our workers don’t touch these bags. They receive it in another bag and then tie them up properly,” he added.

“After collection, these teams go to the open dumping ground in Sector 25 where they dumped the bags in pits. We have permanently deployed a JCB machine there to dig up and then fill the pits with soil,” he said.

Rana said even the chemical suits of the workers are dumped along with the daily waste, and they are given fresh suits and other safety gear. All vehicles used for collection are also sanitised in the evening, he said.

MC junior engineer Vishavjeet Singh, involved in this process, said all collection vehicles are GPS tracked. “Although we have divided areas among these 15 teams, we make changes as new houses add up,” he said.

Head of MC sanitation department, Dr Amrit Warring said that MC was properly adhering to the guidelines issued by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

“Collection of waste from quarantined houses is one of our major priorities and we are not leaving any scope for negligence. Every worker is given well-covered safety kits at the time of collection. Their health is monitored daily,” said Warring, adding that door-to-door garbage collectors have been strictly told to stay away from such houses.

MOHALI MC TEAM TASKED WITH SAFE DISPOSAL OF TRASH

The municipal corporation (MC) has constituted a special team that is picking up the waste generated from around 400 houses wherein as many persons have been home quarantined for perceived coronavirus infection.

MC commissioner of Mohali Kamal Kumar Garg said, “We have a list of people whose houses the team is visiting to pick up garbage once a day. The workers take proper precautions and the waste is buried deeply as per the norms.”

Civil surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said, “A government-empanelled agency is disposing of the biomedical waste of our hospitals and dispensaries. The biomedical waste of Covid-19 patients and suspects is properly packed, sealed, and kept in a designated room. The agency collects it once a day in their truck and dispose it off as per Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016.”

Presently, Mohali has 12 confirmed cases of Covid-19, out of which two are admitted at Fortis Hospital, Sector 62, Mohali, one in Max Hospital, three in civil hospital in Phase 6, and five at Gian Sagar Hospital in Banur. A 43-year-old doctor of Sector 49, Chandigarh , who is also confirmed Covid-19 patient, is admitted at Mayo Hospital in Sector 69.

The Panchkula municipal corporation (MC) has set up a rapid action team to collect waste from the houses of persons who are home quarantined.

Panchkula MC commissioner Sumedha Kataria said, “The waste is being collected in yellow bags and given to the biomedical hazardous waste collector of health department, which disposes it of at its centres.”

Panchkula civil surgeon Dr Jasjeet Kaur said, “For isolation and other wards related to Covid-19, yellow double-layered bags are being used to collect the waste. It is being stored and labelled separately before being handed over to the bio-medical waste treatment facility.”

As per the health department data, around 293 persons are home quarantined in Panchkula, 390 at temporary shelter homes and around 125 at facility quarantines at Nada Sahib gurdwara and Mauli village in Raipur Rani.