Shillong, Dec 19: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday shared breakfast with sanitation workers in Shillong.
Sangma visited a tin shed behind the Shillong Municipal Board yard, where he had ‘puri-sabji’ and tea with them.
Calling it “a truly meaningful way to close the year”, Sangma said the gathering was meant to honour people whose work is seldom seen but always felt.
“These remarkable women and men quietly care for our city, often unseen, yet always present,” he said.
The CM recalled an evening when he was returning home and saw workers still sweeping the road near Ward’s Lake.
“I stopped to meet them, and in that moment, I realised how often we enjoy clean streets and surroundings without ever acknowledging the hands that make it possible,” he said.
“This breakfast is symbolic, but gestures like these remind us to pause, to recognise dignity, and to express gratitude,” he said.
Sangma said the holiday season was an appropriate moment to reflect on civic pride.
“As we celebrate Christmas and welcome the New Year, may we pause with gratitude in our hearts, honour their dignity, and walk alongside them in caring for our beautiful city,” he said.
B Lyngdoh, who has worked with the municipal board for 18 years, said they were moved that their daily routine had been noticed.
“When the CM came and sat with us, it felt like someone finally said ‘we matter’,” she asserted.
Another worker said the job often comes with stigma.
“Some people hold their noses or look away when we collect garbage. But we are providing a service. This makes us proud,” she said.
Over 400 workers are deployed daily across the city, many on rotational shifts, for sanitation duty, an official said.
Their tasks include roadside sweeping, drain clearing, waste lifting, and night-time sanitation runs in market clusters, he said. (PTI)
