Shortage of permanent workers affects sanitation in Tiruchi

The shortage of permanent sanitary workers in several wards of Tiruchi Corporation has begun to affect routine sanitation work, raising concerns over the city’s cleanliness.According to sources, the number of permanent sanitary workers has declined sharply over the years, from around 1,200 in 2019 to just 740 at present. Although the Corporation has engaged about 1,700 outsourced sanitary workers to support waste management operations, councillors say the shortage of permanent staff has impacted sanitation across the city.

Permanent sanitary workers are primarily responsible for road and street sweeping, desilting stormwater drains, removing silt, clearing clogged drains and engaging in special sanitation drives. Their activities are directly supervised by Corporation officials and form a crucial part of the city’s routine sanitation and flood preparedness measures.With only around 740 permanent workers available, each ward on average should have about 11 sanitary workers.

However, the distribution is uneven, with some wards having only five to six workers while others have up to 23. Councillors said this disparity has placed an additional burden on workers, particularly in densely populated residential areas where sanitation requirements are higher.A section of councillors has urged the Corporation to rationalise the deployment of sanitary workers based on the specific needs of each ward.

They pointed out that leave and sick reports among the already limited permanent workforce further reduce manpower, forcing the remaining workers to shoulder additional responsibilities.Councillor K. Ambikapathy (Ward 65) said his ward had only 23 sanitation workers compared to the earlier strength of 40, despite the presence of the airport within the ward.

Councillor Khajamalai Vijay said only eight sanitation workers were available in his ward, making it difficult to carry out daily sanitation work effectively.Ward 23 Councillor K. Suresh Kumar urged the civic body to fill vacant permanent posts to reduce dependence on private agencies and contract workers for maintaining sanitation across the city.

A senior Corporation official said that steps were being taken to strengthen and regularise sanitation teams across all wards and that additional contract workers had been engaged to support the existing workforce. Published - July 22, 2026 08:14 pm IST Read Comments Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit READ LATER SEE ALL Remove