Female sanitation workers working at the field level to eliminate plastic and garbage are facing various social, professional and security challenges, said Additional DIG Apel Mahmud, head of the Cox’s Bazar Tourist Police Region.
He made these remarks while addressing a seminar organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the conference hall room of a five-star hotel on the Cox’s Bazar beach on Saturday afternoon (December 21).
Additional DIG Apel Mahmud said, “The role of female sanitation workers is very important in keeping the tourist city of Cox’s Bazar clean and environmentally friendly.
But the reality is that they face problems such as insecurity, social underestimation, health risks and lack of adequate protective equipment at the workplace.”
He further said that in order to ensure sustainable solutions in plastic waste management and waste disposal, it is necessary to improve the working environment of these workers, provide training and ensure legal protection. In addition, a change in the perspective of society is also very important.
At the seminar, UNDP representatives said that policy support and practical initiatives are being taken to increase the participation of women workers in environmental protection and sustainable waste management.
Representatives of various government and non-government organizations, environmentalists, development workers and sanitation workers were present at the event.
All the speakers emphasized the need for joint efforts to make Cox’s Bazar a plastic-free and clean tourist city.