Want the Prime Minister to ensure a proper rehabilitation programme for the community.
New Delhi: Residents of Valmiki Sadan that mostly houses sanitation workers in the national capital have hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s gesture towards the community in which he washed the feet of sanitation workers at the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj recently.
It was from Valmiki Sadan that the Prime Minister had started his pet “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”—Clean India Mission—back in 2014.
Sant Krishan Saha Vidyarthi, who has been associated with the Valmiki temple in the area, told The Sunday Guardian: “By washing the feet of sanitation workers in Prayagraj, Narendra Modi has carried forward Gandhi’s message of inclusivity. Providing social and economic benefits is one thing and honouring with dignity is another. The whole sanitation workers’ community is touched by the approach the Prime Minister had shown while washing the feet of the sanitation workers.”
The Valmiki temple in the area has historical importance as Mahatma Gandhi stayed for 214 days during the freedom movement, in the early 1940s.
According to the head priest, during the launch of his “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” the Prime Minister had visited this temple too.
“The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan mission cannot be completed without paying respect to those working round-the-clock to clean your houses and city. There is much talk about providing dignified work space for sanitation workers, but the one gesture of the Prime Minister has won over all the talk of the time,” Vidyarthi said.
Sanjay Malanda, resident and member of Residents’ Welfare Association of Valmiki Sadan, told The Sunday Guardian: “We take pride when we see political leaders paying respect to our community members. It becomes special when the Prime Minister pays respect and washes your feet. What the Prime Minister did by washing feet is to recognise our work in society.”
Malanda, however, is not very happy with the practice of manual scavenging and the lack of a rehabilitation programme for sanitation workers, but said that he is happy to see the Prime Minister giving much importance to cleanliness of the country.
Harish Chandra, another resident of the same area, said: “The Prime Minister has won our hearts with his humble approach towards our community; we wish to see that we receive the same respect and affection in our everyday life. Society treats us as inferior despite knowing the truth that we work hard to clean our city. This is our work. We should not be treated badly for the profession we have opted for.”
“I would request the Prime Minister that he should step in to ensure that a proper rehabilitation of sanitation workers is done and funds related to sanitation workers should be released on time,” Chandra said.
In a society that remains rooted in casteism, the Prime Minister struck a chord with his gesture of respecting the sanitation workers who had worked tirelessly to keep the Kumbh Mela premises clean.
However, an expert said that washing of feet of sanitation workers by the Prime Minister was as per the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Arvind Sharma, a scholar at the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University, told The Sunday Guardian: “The RSS believes that Hindu consolidation isn’t possible without instilling social equality. Giving equal respect to all is intrinsic to RSS ideology which was propounded by Balasaheb Deoras, the third sarsanghchalak of the RSS, and the Prmie Minister had followed the culture he has lived.”