Bengaluru Pourakarmikas Told to Register on NAMASTE App for Welfare Benefits

All pourakarmikas in Bengaluru have been directed to mandatorily register on the 'NAMASTE' app so they can access a range of welfare and safety benefits extended by the Union government. The instruction was issued by Hardeep Singh Gill, a Member of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, during a meeting at the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Central Office on Tuesday.

The session, chaired by Mr. Gill along with GBA Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao, took up the demands and concerns of pourakarmikas and manual scavengers, covering safety, health, housing, education, compensation, pension and socio-economic welfare.

Mr. Rao said inspections and documentation were being carried out continuously across the city to track the safety and working conditions of pourakarmikas. Information on deaths and accidents linked to manual scavenging was being compiled case by case, with action taken to provide compensation and other benefits as per rules.

Officials said around 15,292 pourakarmikas are currently working in the city, of whom 12,924 are permanent workers and 2,368 are daily-wage workers. Representatives of pourakarmika organisations pointed out that the workforce had shrunk from more than 35,000 earlier, adding to the burden on those still employed. They pressed for a scientific reassessment of manpower needs and an increase in staff strength.

The meeting also reviewed welfare schemes, including financial assistance of up to ₹5 lakh for eligible pourakarmikas who own plots, reimbursement of medical expenses up to ₹50,000, self-employment assistance, reimbursement of school fees and higher education assistance. Skill-development programmes and a proposal to provide around 120 houses in the North and South city corporation jurisdictions were also discussed.

Representatives of manual scavengers sought immediate compensation for the families of those who died due to manual scavenging, along with pension benefits, health cards and treatment facilities in private hospitals. They also asked for continued educational assistance for their children, loans and financial assistance, and support for self-employment.

Officials were directed to complete registration of eligible pourakarmikas on the 'NAMASTE' app and to enrol workers under relevant schemes of the State Safai Karmachari Development Corporation so that benefits reach them. The meeting decided that the demands submitted by pourakarmika organisations would be taken up with the Special Commissioner (Welfare) and reviewed in detail.