Scrap store distributes bonus to ragpickers

Kashtachi Kamai,the fair trade scrap store operated by the Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat in Pimpri,distributed Rs two lakh as annual bonus to ragpickers. Rajaram Chavan,medical officer of Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation gave away the cheques. The amount has been distributed as profits in a recessionary year,a press release said. The enterprise,started by SNDT-KKPKP-PCMC in 1998 for the welfare of waste pickers,is managed by Sangita Tikhe,a ragpicker’s daughter.

On the occasion,one of the ragpickers Rukmini Danke demanded that the PCMC should protect their rights and improve the conditions at work. Chaya Sontakke spoke about the need for space for non-biodegradable waste recycling centres in every ward. “Why should we sit on roadsides,get abused and even beg for drinking water? When we ask for space,the municipalities turn evasive. Not so when the traders and private bus operators ask for parking lots.”