Let’s salute the waste warriors, says Fatima Sana Shaikh

Unless we value the sacrifices and services of waste pickers and sanitation workers, we can’t win this fight, says the actor

Actor Fatima Sana Shaikh shared a picture of a waste picker cleaning up the mountains in Dharamshala, Himachal, on Instagram. The actor urged people to stand by these foot soldiers that toil to keep the Himalayas clean and sustainable. In her post, she talks about an NGO, Waste Warriors that cleans up the mountains in Dharamshala, Himachal. “They manage the waste around the Corbett Tiger reserve and work with the government in Dehradun to keep our Himalayas clean and sustainable. They have a network of 700-800 waste pickers families who are the foot soldiers in this fight and the lockdown has made their already difficult life very unbearable. More than 10,000 kg of ration has already been provided to put food on the table of more than 3500 people,” she says.

It is sad that the sacrifices of these frontline warriors are forgotten and they remain unsung hero. Avinash Pratap Singh from the NGO, that has been collecting waste and also providing relief to many waste pickers says, “There are many people who were daily wagers. Due to the lockdown, they have lost their livelihood, so we help them get ration and additional items such as medicines and milk.”

The NGO has four vehicles in Dehradun that collect waste everyday. In Dharamshala and Corbett, they have people on foot who collect waste door to door.

There is a checklist they religiously follow before waste pickers go out to collect waste everyday to keep them safe. ”Adequate hand wash and disinfector, sanitising toilets, doors, knobs, adequate sanitisers for all, masks and gloves for workers and many other precautions ensure their safety,” he adds.

This waste is then collected and stored at the center, it is disinfected to protect all and then the government takes to dispose and recycling it.