Skip to main content

Swachh Gujarat? Manual scavenging continues admist CAG indictment, loud govt claims to the contrary

By A Representative
These photographs were taken by the Ahmedabad-based Dalit rights NGO Navsarjan Trust's senior activist, Natubhai Parmar, on November 13, two days after India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report slammed the Gujarat government for the failure of its “Swachh Gujarat” (Clean Gujarat) campaign and existence of “several cases” of manual scavenging, banned in the country. The snaps were taken in three towns, Surendranagar, Wadhwan and Sayala of Gujarat, and a grim reminder that there is no impact of the Swachh Bharat campaign in Gujarat and manual scavenging continues unabated, despite official denials. CAG had also regretted that though the Gujarat government was asked to take "appropriate and swift action" to verify "each and every case" of manual scavenging, CAG did not provide a satisfactory answer to Government of India.

Comments

Anonymous said…
We as a nation with Manu Smiriti and apartheid has yet to learn Dignity of human beings. We can shout and blame other nations about our poverty but cannot blame our cast system and some of our superstitions except on ourselves.
Why is that we in India are not capable to invent equipment to clean human waste? Do we think that such innovation will bring no fame but shame.
We have to break away from this cycle of untouchability. Modi can have many AARTIS at Kashi but will that wash our sins of inhumanity. WHY NO VOICE FOR PEOPLE WHO SERVE US AND KEEP US HEALTHY
November 14, 2014
Post a Comment

TRENDING

Beyond outrage: What the Panchkula school assault reveals about India’s juvenile justice

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan  Some tragedies provoke public anger; others force a society to confront its systemic blind spots. The alleged assault on a six-year-old girl by an eight-year-old classmate inside a government school in Panchkula, Haryana, falls squarely into the latter category. 
Post a Comment
»

'Worksite homicide': Rights groups seek criminal accountability for Jhunjhunu electrocution

By A Representative   Occupational safety and health rights organisations have described the electrocution of eight workers during road construction in Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan, as a preventable killing caused by criminal negligence, saying the incident was not an accident. In a press statement, the groups said, “We, the undersigned organizations working on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Rights of workers in India, express our deep anguish and outrage at the tragic death of 8 workers who were electrocuted while constructing a road in Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan.”
1 comment
»

Beyond the sparkle: The hidden toll of Diwali fireworks on urban wildlife

By Amitabh Kumar*   As the festival of Diwali illuminates our cities with a dazzling array of lights and sounds, it brings with it a spirit of joy, hope, and new beginnings. Yet, beneath the celebratory glow lies an often-overlooked consequence: the profound distress inflicted upon urban wildlife. While humans gather to celebrate, the very habitats that sustain birds, bats, and free-ranging animals are transformed into zones of intense stress, marked by explosive noise, blinding flashes, airborne pollutants, and toxic chemical residues.  
Post a Comment
»