Conservancy workers of the GCC staging a protest in Korattur on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: M. VEDHAN

A civil engineer, who aspires to clear the UPSC’s civil services examination (CSE) and become an IAS officer, has been cleaning garbage in the city to pay for his coaching classes.

Attending classes in the day to realise his dream, Maha Vishnu, 28, a resident of the city, who has completed his graduation in civil engineering, works as a conservancy labourer in the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in the night.

Five attempts left

He had cleared the preliminary exam in 2021, but failed to clear the mains. He has opted for Tamil literature as the optional subject. He has taken the exam four times, and has five attempts left under OBC category.

On Tuesday, Vishnu, along with a group of conservancy labourers participated in a strike demanding better facilities, including toilets for women labourers, and a dignified treatment of workers. The protesting workers demanded shoes, gloves, masks, brushes and bleaching powder, among other facilities.

Vishnu earns ₹753 a day under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), which he uses to pay for the coaching classes and buy books for the CSE. “Senior officers of the GCC’s Ambattur Zone used to prevent conservancy workers from entering their office, citing bad smell and dirt. They [the officials] have not even provided basic facilities to women labourers such as toilets and clean drinking water. The workers are not rebels. They are good people who obey the orders of their superiors in the GCC,” he added. Vishnu was among the workers who recently got the daily wage increased to ₹753 based on a court order. “Once the NULM workers lose their morale, it is easier for officials to rope in private operators, who would pay less…,” he said.

GCC has already roped in private operators at nine zones in the city. “I work in the night, cleaning streets in Korattur. During the day, I study for the CSE. I intend to work hard and become an IAS officer, who makes quick decisions for the welfare, growth and development of workers. My experience as a manual labourer has strengthened my resolve to become an IAS officer,” he says, adding that his work allows him the time to study during the day.