Hyderabad: T. Venkaiah never thought that sweeping the roads of Hyderabad and disposing garbage, which he did for 16 years, would fetch him national recognition.
The Rajendranagar GHMC sanitation worker has been named the “Best worker in India” by the ministry of urban development, and is among the top three in the country to be honoured with an award.
The 49-year-old contract worker of the GHMC is the only one selected from the state. Mr Venkaiah will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 6 at the launch of the Swachh Survekshan 2017 in New Delhi.
GHMC’s South Zone commissioner Srinivas Reddy said, “Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the GHMC was invited to nominate the best sanitary workers based on their performance. Ten from the GHMC were identified and nominated. Among them was T. Venkaiah. His attendance always remains 100 per cent, and he does not even take weekly offs. He has a good rapport with locals and residents. He is known for the accuracy of his work, especially good segregation of waste; he is very active in sanitation works. There have been no complaints about him so far. Earlier, too, he has been awarded cash prizes by the GHMC commissioner for his good work.”
Venkaiah educates on waste
Mr T. Venkaiah, an outsourced contract worker of the GHMC has been named the “Best worker in India” by the ministry of urban development. The GHMC Circle 24 worker had earlier worked for the gram panchayat department when Rajendranagar was not merged with Greater Hyderabad.
“I started work with a salary of Rs 1,200; after 16 year of service now I draw Rs 10,475. My daily job is to collect and segregate wet and dry waste. I ensure that the colonies allocated to me, like Babul Reddy Nagar, Saibaba Nagar and Mohan Reddy Nagar under Rajendranagar Circle remain clean and green without any sanitation problem,” said Mr Venkaiah, who lives in Ganganpahad village. His elder son is also a contract employee with the GHMC, while his younger son is studying Class X.
“One does not have to tell Venkaiah to clear the waste. Rain or thunder, he is always punctual. He in fact educates the residents about solid waste management,” said Ms Savitha Reddy of Mohan Reddy Nagar.
On August 6, the ministry of urban development will conduct a ranking of 500 cities across the country to know their sanitation status. On the same day the top three best workers will be facilitated.
