Activists, workers’ organisations and citizens have demanded an apology from Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda after remarks questioning the attendance of pourakarmikas during an inspection of sanitation works triggered criticism across Bengaluru.
The minister made the comments during an early-morning inspection on Saturday covering Horamavu, Banjara Layout, Agara Lake, Jayanthinagar, Ramamurthy Nagar and Kasturinagar. He pulled up officials over unclean roads and questioned sanitation workers about absenteeism. In a video cited in the report, Gowda said around 30% of the workers were absent and questioned the demand for making their services permanent when some workers were not reporting for duty.
The remarks have since led to a wider debate over attendance, supervision, working conditions and the long-pending demand to regularise Bengaluru’s sanitation workforce. A group of writers, lawyers, doctors and social activists issued a statement seeking an apology from the minister. The group said that questioning attendance could be justified, but objected to publicly reprimanding workers seeking job security and to what it described as insensitive language.
The signatories also questioned whether pourakarmikas receive adequate protective equipment, including gloves, gumboots and masks, and whether they undergo regular health check-ups. They highlighted the hazardous conditions associated with sanitation work and called for an end to exploitation under the contract system.
Writer and activist Du Saraswathi criticised the remarks and said sanitation workers continue to operate without adequate safety equipment while seeking permanent employment. She also referred to deaths involving workers who have fallen into sewage pits and said the minister’s comments should be condemned. Her statement connected the dispute to broader concerns over caste, dignity and the treatment of workers performing essential civic services.
The All India Central Council of Trade Unions, or AICCTU, also condemned Gowda’s conduct and demanded a public apology. Its demands included regularisation, basic labour rights, improved safety measures and dignity for sanitation workers. The issue has also drawn criticism on social media, where users have sought transparency in ward-wise attendance records and called for workers, supervisors and civic officials to jointly examine the reasons for absenteeism.
Some responses argued that workers who report regularly should not be penalised for failures involving absent colleagues or inadequate supervision. Industrialist Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw supported the minister’s remarks in an X post, saying workers should first demonstrate responsible workmanship before seeking permanent jobs. Urbanist Ashwin Mahesh disagreed, saying the city should function as a good employer and that attendance-related problems should be addressed through a transparent system.
The controversy has placed both worker accountability and the conditions of Bengaluru’s sanitation workforce at the centre of the discussion. Activists and trade unions are seeking an apology, regularisation, safety protections and clearer institutional responsibility for the city’s civic workers.
