New Delhi (thestates.news)|The Occupational Safety Training Programme under the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme was inaugurated in West Bengal, with the first batch commencing for sanitation workers of the Durgapur Municipal Corporation.
The programme was organised under the NAMASTE Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, with technical support from the CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-CMERI).
The programme was inaugurated in the presence of Smt. Agnimitra Paul, Minister-in-Charge, Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, Government of West Bengal.
Senior officials and representatives from CSIR-CMERI, the State Urban Development Agency, Asansol Municipal Corporation, Durgapur Municipal Corporation and the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) also attended the programme.
Addressing the gathering, Smt. Agnimitra Paul highlighted the importance of providing sanitation workers with a safe, dignified and mechanised working environment. She reiterated the commitment to eliminating hazardous cleaning practices through training, appropriate safety equipment and increased adoption of mechanised sanitation solutions.
Smt. Agnimitra Paul appreciated the support extended by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, NSKFDC and CSIR-CMERI in strengthening the safety and capacity of sanitation workers in West Bengal. She emphasised that sanitation workers perform an essential role in keeping cities clean and healthy, and that safeguarding their dignity, safety and well-being is a collective responsibility.
West Bengal has completed the profiling of 7,630 Sewer and Septic Tank Workers. Personal Protective Equipment kits have also been distributed among identified workers. Awareness workshops on preventing hazardous sanitation practices have been conducted across 124 municipalities and three cantonment boards in the State.(s-pib)
