Sanitation workers: Unsung heroes of Medaram

Medaram (Mulugu): Rarely do sanitation workers share the spotlight even though they deserve it rightly. The four-day Sammakka-Saralamma jatara that drew more than one crore devotees is now a part of history.

The tiny countryside village Medaram that transformed into a bustling city with millions of floating populace descending on it will revert to its own shape in a few days. With heaps of litter around discarded by the devotees, who keeps Medaram and its neighbouring villages clean and habitable?

In the words of Khammam Collector RV Karnan, who was in-charge of Mulugu and Medaram jatara, "The sanitation workers are the unsung heroes. They had done well during the jatara that ended on Saturday by keeping Medaram clean and hygiene. But their real work starts now as they had to work few more days to bring Medaram back to its original position."

Even though the administration had deployed 1,000 sanitation workers for the jatara, it takes a week or so to clean the mounds of litter accumulated on the temple precincts and around. This apart, the sticky jaggery strewn all around the altars of the tribal deities had to be cleaned.

But for a sizable number of devotees, Medaram looked like an abandoned village on Sunday, after witnessing a city-like atmosphere in last few days. A huge tract of farmland, which was occupied by the devotees during the main jatara, is now boasts an empty look with majority of makeshift tents and huts had already been vacated.

But the challenge remains in the form of garbage all over farmlands, pilgrim shelters and roads. The administration continuously lifted out the jaggery presented by the devotees to the deities at the altars.

The jaggery was shifted at regular intervals using a tractor so that to avoid piling. During the jatara, the administration engaged tractors and auto trolleys to collect refuse from Jampanna vagu stream and other areas.

It may be mentioned here that even though the administration had campaigned extensively to avoid use of plastics, a lot of refuse was seen around Medaram. The authorities said that it was little compared to previous years'.

"People need to understand the importance of avoiding plastics in the context of conservation of environment. Though the administration had tried to contain the flow of plastics by conducting checks, it became impossible for it check thousands of vehicles coming from all corners of the State," an official said.