Union leaders sacked for protesting "illegal" practice of manual scavenging in small Gujarat town

By A Representative

Manual scavengers of a small town in Gujarat, Dudhrej of Surendranagar district, are on warpath. Following the refusal of the state government authorities to heed to their demand to regularize them, the scavengers – who mostly work as contractors workers under the local municipality – took out their maiden rally in Surendranagar to protest against the “discriminatory attitude” of the authorities. They allege, instead of rehabilitating them in respectable jobs, they are forced to manually clean up human excreta, or else quit the job.

In a written representation following the rally to the district collector, Surendranagar, the Safai Kamdar Hak Rakshak Samiti, which is fighting for their rights, has said, “Instead of heeding to the demands of the manual scavengers, the chief officer of the municipality has sacked one of our chief leaders, Hireshbhai Bariya, as also several others who had sought to protest against the despicable practice.” It adds, “These workers were removed unceremoniously. They were not even given a written order. They were told orally not to come for work from the next day.”

The representation said, apart from rehabilitating them from manual scavenging, one of their major demands was that the contractor, who employs them under the banner of Navalgadh Majur Sahkari Mandali, should hand pay them in accordance with the minimum wages applicable for the work they were made to do. The representation said, the minimum wages payable to them is Rs 230.40 per day, which they are not being paid.

“Instead of complying by minimum wages law, the contractor has refused to deposit with authorities the employees’ provident fund (EPF) amount deducted from wages. We have been demanding to hand over EPF slips suggesting how much of EPF has been deposited, but the contractor refused to give any details”, said Baldevbhai Rathod, who signed the representation on behalf of the manual scavengers. He adds, “This is happening despite the fact they have been working without break under the municipality’s fire station.”

“The chief officer, during a Lok Darbar with us, agreed to ensure that minimum wages are paid to us, and also that our EPF amount would be deposited and we would get the receipts. Instead, however, he has sought to sack manual scavengers who were in the forefront of the demand, suspecting that they were behind information being given to the media”, Rathod said, adding, “it is a clear case of corruption, which should be investigated into.”

Putting up a list of demands, the representation insisted that the payment of their wages should be straight deposited in the nationalized banks, the difference caused by the failure to implement the minimum wages should be paid to them with effect from the day on which they had begun to work on contract, and FIR should be lodged against the contractor, who has not deposited their EPF money with the authorities.
The representation further asked the district collector to institute a case under the anti-atrocities Act against those who were forced them to clean up manual excreta, lying next to public toilets. “The new law, Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 should be applied on those responsible”, it said. The Act prohibits manual scavenging, manual cleaning of septic tanks and sewers and unsanitary toilets.

Comments

Beyond India-China borders: Economic links expand, political gaps persist

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Despite growing trade between India and China, a persistent trust deficit continues to shape their bilateral relationship. Expanding economic engagement has not fully resolved political differences, many of which stem from historical legacies as well as contemporary geopolitical concerns. Border disputes—often traced to colonial-era arrangements—remain a significant obstacle to deeper cooperation, while differing strategic alignments in global affairs add further complexity.

GreenTech Summit claims NCR as key green building hub, without pan-India comparison

By A Representative The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), under the Confederation of Indian Industry, held its GreenTech Summit 2026 in New Delhi, where industry representatives, policymakers and sustainability professionals discussed the adoption of climate technologies in India’s built environment.

Gujarat cadre to HDFC: When bureaucratic style hits corporate walls

By Rajiv Shah I was a little amused by the abrupt March 17, 2026 resignation of Atanu Chakraborty —a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1985 batch who retired from the government in 2020—as chairman of HDFC Bank . Much of what may have led to his decision to quit this ostensibly high post—actually a non-executive, part-time role—is by now well known. I followed most of it online with considerable interest, partly because I had interacted with him umpteen times during my stint as The Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar from 1997 to 2012.

Operation Epic Fury: Making America great at the world’s expense?

By N.S. Venkataraman* The decades-long enmity between Iran and Israel is well-documented, but historically, their direct confrontations have been brief, constrained by the logistical and economic limitations of sustained warfare. The current conflict in the Middle East, however, marks a radical and dangerous departure from this pattern.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

India has been getting its economic growth wrong for two decades, say top economists

By Jag Jivan* India's official GDP figures have misrepresented the trajectory of the world's fifth-largest economy for the better part of two decades, according to a major new working paper published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). It finds that India overstated annual growth by up to two percentage points after 2011 — and understated it during the boom years of the 2000s.

'Tax the top': Nationwide protests demand action as 1% control 40% of India’s wealth

By A Representative Civil rights groups across the country observed the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh on March 23, as people from diverse backgrounds united to raise their voices against growing economic inequality. The mobilisations marked the launch of a nationwide campaign against inequality, running from March 23 to April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti), under the banner of the “Tax The Top” campaign.

Beyond the election manifesto: Why climate is now a kitchen table issue

By Vikas Meshram* March has long been a month of gentle transition, the period when winter softly retreats and a mild warmth signals nature’s renewal. Yet, in recent years, this dependable rhythm has been disrupted. This year, since the beginning of March, temperatures across vast swathes of the country have shattered previous records, soaring to between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius in some regions. This is not a mere fluctuation in the weather; it is a serious and alarming indicator of climate change .

Search This Blog