Life insurance and identity cards are not things that one associates with ragpickers in India. But that`s exactly what a union in this city in Maharashtra is providing to its members who collect scrap.
Written By Miscellaneous|Last Updated: Nov 03, 2007, 12:00 AM IST|Source: Exclusive
Pune: Life insurance and identity cards are not things that one associates with ragpickers in India. But that`s exactly what a union in this city in Maharashtra is providing to its members who collect scrap.Called the Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP), the trade union has around 7,500 members, making it one of the biggest ragpickers` unions in India. It has also devised better ways of scrap collection.
Mangal Gaikwad, a ragpicker by profession, can`t stop talking about the benefits of joining KKPKP.
"As a child I would envy the children who went to school with their bags and water bottles while I had to go waste-picking," she recollects.
"Today I earn Rs. 3,000 from doorstep collection and the sale of scrap. Residents who used to frown at me while I was at the garbage bin now know my name and greet me. One of them even gave me a second-hand bicycle, which I now ride to work," Mangal told.
In India, thousands of tonnes of garbage are segregated across the country every day with re-usable material finding its way to scrap markets . And behind this mammoth process are ragpickers, who go about their work without realising how much they contribute to the environment.
But unlike other ragpickers, KKPKP is changing the lives of its members.
Mangal has life insurance cover thanks to KKPKP. Her work- hours have also gone down due to which she manages to attend literacy classes. "I am now literate," she beamed.
KKPKP has a credit union whereby members deposit Rs 100 per month that comes back to them as retirement benefits. The ragpickers can also avail themselves of loans from the union.
KKPKP was registered as a cooperative more than 10 years ago and is now recognised nationally and internationally.
Mangal is treasurer of the credit cooperative and the representative for her slum. She recently bought a bigger house for Rs 65,000 from her savings and a loan from the credit cooperative.
The union has now come up with a programme to handle the city`s waste better and at lesser costs.
According to Purnima Chikarmane, a KKPKP activist, Pune generates 1,500 tonnes of garbage every day. Out of this, 900 tonnes is collected by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) trucks and taken to landfill sites. In this process, the civic body spends Rs 1,500 per tonne of garbage.
The plan proposed by KKPKP called `Swach` aims at providing a waste collector at every house at a monthly cost of Rs 10 per family. The waste collector will segregate the garbage at the doorstep itself, thus leaving hardly anything for landfill sites.
Though PMC liked the idea last year, it revoked the programme in September.
Laxmi Narayan, another KKPKP activist, alleges that the body wanted the marginal Rs 10 fee also to come to it and hence scrapped the programme.
But this hasn`t stopped the union from going ahead with its plans. It hopes to implement Swach as a cooperative through funding from corporate houses.
And in five years, it envisages the cooperative as a self-sufficient body, which would outsource the work to smaller groups.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.