Ahmedabad's sanitation workers, on strike, forced to do manual scavenging at 200 spots in city: NGO survey

By A Representative
Amidst continuing strike by sanitation workers attached with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in favour of regularizing their employment, latest facts reveal there are more than 200 spots where they are "forced" to do the despicable job of manual scavenging in a city which is desperately waiting to acquire the UNESCO Heritage tag.
Apart from “cleaning up” the city every day, the sanitation workers, most of whom belong to the Valmiki community, must manually clean up human excreta at these 200 plus spots, these facts reveal. Worse, in some parts, such as the posh western zone, a great majority of them are forced to do it without being on government rolls, merely as contract workers.
According to information collected by a senior activist attached with the Ahmedabad-based NGO Janvikas, Jitendra Rathod, the AMC recently advertised in a top vernacular daily, “Gujarat Samachar” seek “objections”, if any, on declaring as many as 34 wards of Ahmedabad as open defecation free (ODF) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachchha Bharat Mission.
Following the ad, which appeared in May, Janvikas, in alliance with a community organization working among the Valmikis, Manav Garima, conducted survey of these 34 wards. “We identified that there were 55 spots where open defecation is exists, which leads to manual scavenging”, Rathod said.
“We gave details with photographs of open defecation and raised our objections to declare 34 wards as ODF”, said Rathod, adding, however, “So far, no action has been taken in stopping open defecation in any of the wards. Already, three months have passed, yet no concrete details are being shared.”
A few days back, said Rathod, AMC again released an ad in “Gujarat Samachar” seeking information on declaring another eight wards as ODF, seeking objections, if any. “It is surprising. Is the AMC just completing formalities in order to declare the city ODF by publishing advertisement in newspapers?”, he asked.
Insisting that the practice of manual scavenging cannot be prohibited just by ads or chanting slogans, Rathod said, “One needs systematic steps and infrastructure to stop open defecation/manual scavenging. It requires sufficient sanitation facilities like individual or community toilets, drainage, water etc. in slum areas.”
“Otherwise”, he said, “The sanitation workers, nearly all of whom belong to to Valmiki community, would have no other option but forced to handle, remove, carry human excreta in cities like Ahmedabad.”
The sanitation workers' plight is particularly pitiable, as in the 178 square km western zone of the city, which is equal to the total area of Vadodara city, Gujarat's cultural capital, just about 219 of 2,463, working as daily wage workers, are regularized, with many of them are working for up to two decade. The western zone consists of Vejalpur, Bodakdev, Jodhpur, Thaltej, Sarkhej, Ghatlodiya, Gota, Chandlodiya, Ranip and Kali areas.
Led by Dalit leader Jignesh Makwana, the Jan Sangharsh Manch, representing the striking sanitation workers, has said in a note that they are “deprived of all the benefits that come with a permanent job including health, residency and retirement benefits etc.”
“Instead of following the principle of equal wage for equal work, these workers are firstly forced to work as daily wagers and paid much reduced wages as compared to permanent workers”, the note said, highlighting how they are being forced to enter into gutters without any safety equipment.
“They pick up garbage, spraying anti-malarial drugs, all of which lead to severe health issues, yet they have no health coverage”, it underlined, suggesting, instead of adopting a sympathetic attitude towards the sanitation workers, they are being targeted for creating health problems in the city for refusing to take care of cleanliness of the city, leading to health hazards to the citizens.
“On Sunday, around 30 sanitary workers, including four women, were detained by the Gujarat police for long hours for the simple act of protesting and an FIR was registered late in the night”, the note said, adding, “While detaining them the police abused and manhandled the workers. No lady constable or officer was present.”
Meanwhile, there are reports that the AMC is considering to impose Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to break the sanitation workers' strike, continuing for the last more than a week. It is not known how and under which law the government would impact ESMA on the daily wagers.

Comments

Why Venezuela govt granting amnesty to political prisoners isn't a sign of weakness

By Guillermo Barreto On 20 May 2017, during a violent protest planned by sectors of the Venezuelan opposition, 21-year-old Orlando Figuera was attacked by a mob that accused him of being a Chavista. After being stabbed, he was doused with gasoline and set on fire in front of everyone present. Young Orlando was admitted to a hospital with multiple wounds and burns covering 80 percent of his body and died 15 days later, on 4 June.

Walk for peace: Buddhist monks and America’s search for healing

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The #BuddhistMonks in the United States have completed their #WalkForPeace after covering nearly 3,700 kilometers in an arduous journey. They reached Washington, DC yesterday. The journey began at the Huong Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 26, 2025, and concluded in Washington, DC after a 108-day walk. The monks, mainly from Vietnam and Thailand, undertook this journey for peace and mindfulness. Their number ranged between 19 and 24. Led by Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara (also known as Sư Tuệ Nhân), a Vietnamese-born monk based in the United States, this “Walk for Peace” reflected deeply on the crisis within American society and the search for inner strength among its people.

Pace bowlers who transcended pace bowling prowess to heights unscaled

By Harsh Thakor* This is my selection and ranking of the most complete and versatile fast bowlers of all time. They are not rated on the basis of statistics or sheer speed, but on all-round pace-bowling skill. I have given preference to technical mastery over raw talent, and versatility over raw pace.

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

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".

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

'Paradigm shift needed': Analyst warns draft electricity policy ignores ecological costs

By A Representative The Ministry of Power’s Draft National Electricity Policy (NEP), 2026 has drawn sharp criticism from power and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma, who has submitted detailed feedback highlighting what he calls “serious omissions” in the government’s approach to energy transition.

Search This Blog