Bangalore’s unrecognized environmentalists

By Tej Sapru

BANGALORE (Nov. 29)—Surya looks no more than 11 years old, though he says he is 14. A mop of hair that hangs down till just above his eyebrows overwhelms his small face; his brow is furrowed in a perpetually worried expression.

He is painfully shy. When he speaks, it is in monosyllables, muttered under his breath. He wears a flashy orange shirt that stands in stark contrast to his demeanor, one of several contradictions that Surya embodies.

He is currently a resident of the Skill Training Center of the Ragpickers Educational & Development Scheme (REDS). The picturesque red brick building sits amid farmland and greenery near Bangalore’s Electronic City. The center’s purpose is to give ragpicker children a place to live and learn to do something else with their lives.

The man in charge is brother Mohan Raj. Surya’s face lights up as soon as he sees Brother Mohan. He answers his every question with a smile, and a sweetly intoned “brother.”

“My father is dead, brother.”

“My mother is a helper in a school, brother.”

“I became a ragpicker because there was no money in the house, brother.”

“My friends would go into houses and steal things; we would use the money to buy cigarettes and drinks, brother.”

He is not comfortable talking about his past. He is ashamed of the fact that he was a ragpicker, but with Brother Mohan his story unfolds a little at a time.

It is not an unusual story: Death and poverty forced him into the only profession available to him. It was a profession that caused people to look down on him and exposed him to violence, crime and addiction.

Ignored by the system

According to a study by Waste Wise Trust, an NGO, there are about 15,000 ragpickers operating in Bangalore.
We see them in dump yards, on our streets and at our doorstep, rummaging through our refuse, trying to find something useful.

There has never been any effort to organize or legitimize this shadowy fellowship; consequently they do not get access to any kind of wage security or health benefits.

Both are vitally necessary. Because ragpickers work with waste, they are prone to a variety of health problems.

“Once I was working in the dump, there was a lot of food in it that day, when I went home and washed my legs, they were covered in blisters. The smell was very bad,” Surya said.

Because there is no support system in place, they cannot afford to receive any real form of treatment.

“I used to get fevers and headaches, but I could not go to the hospital, I would just buy a pill from the shop and then go back to work,” said Palini a man who has worked as a ragpicker for over 20 years.

Because ragpickers operate in such an informal system, they do not have access to protective clothing, or even an education on what a difference it could make.

Palini’s story is one of incredible determination and achievement. He rose up the ranks, going from ragpicker to scrap dealer, and now he works with WIPRO, a large multinational software company in Bangalore, recycling its waste.

Palni employs 12 workers now, and all of them have to wear an array of safety equipment. His life as an unprotected child worker taught him how important this was.

Criminal connections

Another consequence of being ignored by society is the criminal activity that is directly connected with ragpicking.

“Many, many ragpickers are involved in criminal activity, they break into homes, they rob, they even murder,” said Prema Mantish, a social worker at REDS.

Their criminal connections make them objects of fear and hostility from the more affluent members of society.

An honest ragpicker will still face constant harassment from the police, something that even social workers cannot condemn because the criminal connections are undeniable.

From ragpickers to environmental workers

“Ragpickers segregate the solid waste from the wet waste, they pick up paper, plastic, glass, anything that can be reused,” said Kruppa, a worker at CHF International, a group that has brought together seven different NGOs in the city in an effort to legitimize these little-recognized workers.

A child living in a ragpicker colony - Photo courtesy The Advocacy Project

CHF believes that ragpickers should be looked at as “green workers”—invaluable contributors to the city, and vitally important to sustainable waste management.

Because of the work of groups like CHF and REDS, and events like the Bangalore Recycling Habba there has been an increase in awareness about ragpickers.

The work is beginning to bear fruit as government authorities are finally starting to pay attention.

“The rag pickers play a very big role in recycling of waste in Bangalore—they recycle 500-600 tons of waste every day,” said Satish from the Environmental Cell of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.

This realization has lead to an initiative between the city’s social workers and the BBMP. Two months ago a pilot project was launched that supplied 200 eligible ragpickers in the city with cards that identify them as official green workers for the BBMP.

“This card has been invaluable—now the police cannot throw us off streets, now when people shout at us we can say that we work for the government too,” said Palini, who was chosen as one of the 200 members.

The card also gives them access to a variety of government schemes, like the Survarna Aryogya Scheme that provides up to Rs. 50,000 in healthcare.

There are also provisions in place that will provide low interest loans and free education to the children of ragpickers.
“We have given a contract to social workers across the city to do a survey of all the ragpickers,” Satish said. “In the future many more will benefit.”

Forgotten children

Though steps are being taken in the right direction, there is still a long way to go. One of the most glaring problems with the ID card scheme is that, by law, it cannot be applied to children.

Prema from REDS estimates that as many as 40 percent of the ragpickers in the city are children, ranging in age from 8 to 15.

Most of them have dropped out of school, or come from such poor families that this is the only option available to them.
Many more are orphans who survive by themselves on the streets, as there is no system to take care of them.

They are the most likely to turn to crime and drug abuse—they are the most in need of protection.

The REDS Skill Training Center represents a potential solution to this uncomfortable problem.

“We do offer traditional schooling, but many of these children have spent years working,” Brother Mohan said. “Going to school is no longer an option for them.”

The center offers vocational courses like welding, carpentry and plumbing for those who are not interested in school.
Surya is one such boy. He is studying to be an electrician. It is difficult to imagine him as a professional, but with Surya, appearances are deceiving.

“I already have a contact. My friend’s brother is an electrician. I am going to get a job with him. I will earn Rs. 5,000 a month. Soon I will earn 10,000,” Surya said.

This final surprise served as a reminder that while Surya might not look 14, in terms of life experience, he is far older than most of us.

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