MARGAO: As the World Food Day is celebrated worldwide on October 16 on the theme “Leave no one hungry”, Street Providence, Food Bank-Sangolda, Navtara hotels, along with Shadow Council for Margao marked the day by distributing 450 lunch packets to the door-to-door waste collection workers, and the workers at Sonsodo on Sunday.
The food distribution programme was held in the presence of John Baptista of Food Bank, Nouman Khan of Navtara hotels and SCM members Dr Roslyn Pereira, Arch Carlos Gracias, Adv Nick Colaco, Adv Snehal Onskar, Jose Maria Miranda, Domnic Coutinho, Irineu Fernandes, Lalan Parsekar and Damodar Onskar.
Convenor speaks about workers' exploitation
Speaking on the occasion, former Chairperson of MMC and SCM convener Savio Coutinho stated that the waste collection workers were identified to provide the meals, purely as a gesture to recognise their contribution to society, in keeping our surroundings clean. Coutinho said that these workers put themselves to health risks as they handle our waste in the most foul conditions, and provide us cleaner places, he said. “If one wishes to know how they are exploited, then each one of us should find out how much their waste collection worker gets for the work he/she does, in comparison to what they should actually get,” Coutinho said.
The SCM team also visited the Sonsodo dump yard with lunch packets for the 40 workers employed there. “Elected representatives who visited Sonsodo dump yard were appraised by the workers about the absence of clean water supply, sadly after tall assurances the water supply is yet to be restored, Coutinho pointed out.
'Water is Life, Water is Food'
“We have come to Sonsodo with water bottles as well, for the purpose of creating awareness about the non-availability of water. This year’s World Food Day theme also refers to water as food; with the slogan “Water is Life, Water is Food”, he said.
Dr Roslyn Pereira thanked Hassan Karami for sponsoring the lunch packets, and Donald Fernandes for the wonderful initiative of providing food to the deserving.
