When PGs pick up the broom to become govt. servants

Highly educated persons among newly posted conservancy staff in Coimbatore

10/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,COIMBATORE

When 23-year-old K. Sangeetha picked up a broom to sweep Raja Street on Monday morning she was going through mixed emotions.

It was the first day of her job as a Coimbatore Corporation conservancy worker and she was not quite prepared for the task that awaited her. “I did not expect to sweep the road. Initially it was very difficult. I felt as if all eyes were on me. But I managed to pull through.”

Despite holding a post-graduate qualification in microbiology, she took up the appointment because she always wanted a government job.

“I convinced myself — let me take it, for life does not have to end with me being a conservancy worker. I’ll use this as a stepping stone to find better avenues.”

For 35-year-old N. Padmavathy too, Monday was the first day of work as a municipal conservancy worker. She also took up the assignment because it was a government job and the salary was better than that at her last employer.

The conservancy workers on entry get a little more than ₹17,500 a month. They are eligible for annual increments and pension benefits.

The working hours were another reason for Ms. Padmavathy quitting her job as an accountant at a private firm near Town Hall.

“Here I’m happy that I can finish my work early in the evening to return home to my children,” says the mother of two.

The women are among dozens of men and women with under-graduate and post-graduate qualifications who applied for and were appointed for conservancy work. The new staff include those from the Backward Classes and the Most Backward Classes.

R. Naveen, a civil engineering diploma holder, says family circumstances forced him to take up the job. “I’m the breadwinner and support my mother and younger sister. That is why I left my job at a private company to take up this government job.”

Welcoming the fact that qualified candidates and persons from outside the SC communities were taking up conservancy work, S. Selvakumar, member, State Level SC Welfare Committee, said it was a step towards ensuring social equality.

A senior Corporation official said the civic body followed the roster system in appointing qualified candidates but did not share details on the exact number of appointees with a college qualification.

ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN