Bio-medical waste handlers: The stories of the people who risk cleaning up after you leave the hospital

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Forty-year-old Srinivas pushes a large metallic trolley through the less frequented back alley of the Gandhi government hospital in Hyderabad. “This is my fourth round he says. I'm almost done with my shift and I can go home after one more round,” he says.

The garbage trolley emits a nauseating smell, but Srinivas uses neither gloves nor a mask. “Initially, even I couldn't bear the stench. Now, I’m just used to it,” he says. Srinivas gets up at 5 am and walks to the hospital from his house, situated nearby at Bhoiguda.

He changes into his uniform and checks in for work at 7 am sharp. This has been his schedule for the past year. “There are two shifts of workers and I work from 7 am to 2 pm,” he says.

“It's simple. These black bags go in the bin and the yellow bags go in the truck. The stink is because the waste is wet at the bottom, so this how you do it," he adds as he picks up to cardboard pieces and scoops up all the waste at the bottom and shoves it inside the yellow bag.

However, Srinivas isn't the only medical waste disposer in the hospital. "The hospital employs more than a hundred of us easily," says R K Das, another worker, who has been around ever since the hospital's new location was inaugurated in 2003.

This is just one government hospital in Hyderabad, a city that houses countless private medical clinics and hospitals beside another two large government ones.

Both Srinivas and Das quickly dispose of the garbage and push the trolley back to the hospital blocks where they collect the next round of garbage from various wards and repeat the process all over again.

“It is hard sometimes. We only get paid around Rs 6,000 per month for the work and we would feel better if someone at least appreciated us,” says Srinivas.

“You're the first person who has actually asked me what my job involves. But still everyone only respects the doctors and nurses because they are in front and we are in the background,” Das chimes in.

Das and Srinivas say their working conditions are unhygienic and can also be dangerous. “I have been falling sick more often than before but what can I do? I am uneducated and I have to do some work to fill mine and my family's stomach,” says Srinivas, who sometimes even works as a construction worker after his shifts to make ends meet.

There are a lot of studies on improper disposal of medical waste in India, mainly due to ignorance as many doctors and medical staff are unaware of the rules and hospital authorities are negligent.

Srinivas seems to have come to terms with staying on but is determined that his children will not follow suit. “I have two sons and I'm making sure both of them finish school. I will not let the same fate befall them,” he says.

(Srinivas and Das manage to share a laugh, despite their troubles)

India

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Bio-medical waste handlers: The stories of the people who risk cleaning up after you leave the hospital

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