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By Himanshu Bhatt. WHILE many people work in comfortable offices with air-conditioning, there are many others who toil in the most repulsive of places. And the tasks they perform in these spaces are often such that without them the normal functions of the rest of society would be hampered. Take for example 54-year-old Shunmugam Ponniah. For the past three decades, the Penang Island Municipal Council worker has been working as a cleaner, clearing drains, roads, waterways and other public places.
While the rest of society may take them for granted, Shunmugam and his colleagues have quietly toiled in environments others would cringe to even go near. Once during heavy rains in Ayer Itam, they had to wade in deep murky waters to remove debris that was choking the drainage system, only to find pig carcasses. The workers were then forced to remove these manually to allow water to flow smoothly again. They perform the filthiest of tasks, walk along the dirtiest of corners, yet their work is largely unacknowledged or even heard of. Earlier this week, the Penang government accorded an unusual, and rather overdue, accolade to some 50 workers from the municipal council who risk their life and health every day clearing underground drains and channels choked with rubbish, conferring upon them medals and cash awards. To understand how deserving these people are in being thus recognised, consider that the awards ceremony, officiated by the chief minister, had been subject to postponement under uncanny circumstances. Rain and flash floods had hit the city when the ceremony was originally scheduled earlier this month and instead of showing up to get their awards, the workers had without a second thought hurried away to clear clogged drains. The municipal council has been having a tough time convincing the workers to use machines and wear protective gear while working in filthy, unhygienic spots. Having done things and been to places others can only imagine, the workers object to those who tell them how to do their jobs; and insist on getting the difficult tasks of cleaning done their way, in the manner their experiences best demand. No machine, Shunmugam and his team insist, can fully perform certain tasks as effectively as their hands. There is no way any machine can remove the tiny debris that accumulate and choke up underground drains. "Only our hands can do this kind of work. I have no hesitation to go into these drains," he says. It is very easy for the public to complain about dirty roads and drains, and lament about shoddy maintenance by local governments. But the council workers who are there at "ground zero" know that that the public is responsible for throwing much of the rubbish it whines about. The hawkers who indiscriminately dump oil into our drains, the residents who throw all sorts of domestic waste, the pedestrians who fling plastic bags into the waterways, are all to blame not only for the pollution they cause, but also for the hazards that they heap upon these workers. Incidentally, it was the image of them wading waist-high in an underground canal, filled with oil, rubbish and reeking waste during a flood, that caught the attention of the authorities, after it was published in the media. To the state government’s credit, it responded by arranging an official recognition, the first time a state leadership has been known to confer awards on such workers. It is easy to dish out awards to the rich and the famous, those who are "well-connected" or have the advantage of being visible in popular media. But the workers who literally sweep the streets to keep us comfortable and safe have not been known to have such benefits. The work they perform, fraught with danger, health risks and sheer discomfort, is one that no body desires. It is precisely that which makes them the unsung heroes, the unheralded champions, that our society badly needs to acknowledge. ** Reproduced with permission. This article first appeared in the July 01, 2010 issue of theSun. Himanshu is the newspaper's Penang bureau chief.
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