Several workers say they would not travel again for verification and were willing to take the risk because repeated absences from work could cost them their jobs. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO
After traveling to West Bengal four times for special intensive review (SIR), many sanitation workers employed through private contractors and agencies linked to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) have been recalled from garbage collection work, with contractors saying their repeated absences are affecting daily garbage collection across housing complexes. Many others, meanwhile, have decided not to go because they fear losing jobs and wages.
Several workers The Hindu spoke to said they would no longer travel for verification and were willing to take the risk as repeated absences could cost them their jobs. “We don’t have paid leave and to be away for a few days, even on a contractual basis, is to be replaced to ensure that garbage collection continues without the assurance that we will be taken back when we return,” said Mohammed Mehroon, a garbage collector in Varthur.
Possible consequences
However, many other workers acknowledged the dilemma, as failure to appear for verification could have wider consequences. “If a person’s name is removed, it can affect voting rights and cause difficulties in proving residence and identity. For us workers, delisting has wider issues, including access to welfare schemes, ration cards and other government benefits, which are already difficult to access,” said Sameer Rahman, a garbage collector in Panathur.
Anis Ur Rahman Sheik, a sanitation worker involved in garbage collection at a premium housing complex in Thubarahalli, Whitefield, said for the past six years he had traveled twice after receiving notices but could not afford to go again. “I have neither money nor can I risk losing my job,” he said. He added that the notices did not clearly explain the reason for the re-verification and pointed out that the names of all 12 members of his family appeared in the 2002 electoral rolls.
Osman Ali, employed at another apartment complex in Varthur, said he traveled once and returned to work after nine days only to receive another notice in the next four days asking him to report again for verification. Since then, he said, he has not been able to return to work. “I was notified on January 17 and asked to report by January 19. It is impossible to cover thousands of kilometers in less than 48 hours,” he said.
Expensive travel
He said he had borrowed money and booked a flight to Kolkata on January 19, the date of verification, spent ₹12,700 but the verification is yet to be completed. “Since that day, I have been waiting with four of my brothers, who were also notified and could not return,” he said. He added that co-workers told him that he might not have the job until he returned because the high volume of waste collection at the apartment complex required him to be replaced immediately.
Several organisations, including Swaraj India and the Karnataka Bengali Kalyan Samiti, have started awareness drives to explain the verification process and its implications to workers so that they do not skip the exercise without understanding its possible implications, said Kaleem Ullah, national executive member of Swaraj India.
Published – 31 Jan 2026 21:26 IST
