Eradicating manual scavenging requires multi-pronged strategy, a nationwide campaign

Kaushal Khatri*
Manual scavenging, the practice of manually cleaning and removing human excreta from dry latrines and sewers, has been an unfortunate reality in India for centuries. This dehumanizing practice persists despite being outlawed in 1993 under the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act.
The majority of manual scavengers are Dalits, who occupy the lowest rung of India's caste hierarchy. They are compelled by their economic and social status to take up this hazardous and degrading occupation. Estimates suggest there are still hundreds of thousands of manual scavengers across the country, over 90% of whom are Dalit women.
The persistence of manual scavenging is a testament to the deep-rooted caste discrimination in Indian society. Caste determines social status and limits access to resources, education, and employment opportunities. Dalits have been forced into menial occupations like manual scavenging due to systemic oppression over centuries. Many manual scavenging jobs are passed down through generations, trapping entire families in this cycle of poverty and indignity.
Manual scavengers have to physically enter sewers and septic tanks to clear blockages and clean excreta using rudimentary tools and often without protective gear. This exposes them to harmful gases, human waste, injuries from broken glass and needles, and a constant risk of asphyxiation. A shocking 500-600 manual scavengers reportedly die every year from suffocation while cleaning sewers and septic tanks.
Despite the efforts of activists and nonprofit organizations, manual scavenging continues due to administrative apathy and a lack of rehabilitation for scavengers. The 1993 Act prohibited the employment of manual scavengers by prescribing penalties for violation. However, the law has failed to eradicate the practice as many scavengers are unaware of their rights or afraid to lose their livelihood.
State governments have been slow to identify and rehabilitate manual scavengers. The Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers launched in 2007, aims to provide alternative livelihoods through skill development and financial assistance. However, a 2011 government survey found over 26,000 manual scavengers across India had not received any assistance.
In 2013, the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act was passed to reinforce the previous law and expand rehabilitation measures. State governments are required to survey and identify manual scavengers for providing skill training, financial aid, and public employment. However, the implementation has been inadequate.
In 2017, a landmark judgement by the Supreme Court directed states to fully implement welfare measures and take proactive steps to eliminate manual scavenging. The court criticized government authorities' indifferent attitude and failure to stop manual scavenging. Nonetheless, ending this abhorrent practice requires a collaborative effort between multiple stakeholders at all levels.
Eradicating manual scavenging requires a multi-pronged strategy -- a nationwide awareness campaign to make people aware of the inhumanity of this practice and the rights of scavengers; strict enforcement of existing laws and monitoring of sewage treatment systems to employ only mechanical cleaning; and, most importantly, providing alternate dignified employment for scavengers through coaching, vocational training, easy loans, and subsidies.
The Covid-19 pandemic has magnified the risks associated with manual scavenging. States must ensure proper protective equipment for scavengers handling medical and hazardous waste and rehabilitate them on priority. Dalit rights organizations have a major role to play in organizing, empowering, and demanding justice for scavengers.
Ending manual scavenging for good requires laws and government programs, and a radical social transformation. The caste system that deems fellow humans "untouchable" based on their birth has no place in a modern democracy. India cannot become a global power clinging to primitive and brutal customs like manual scavenging. As a society, we need to introspect and recognize that manual scavengers' human rights and dignity matter. It is imperative that we break the cycle by expanding access to education, resources, and opportunities. Only then can we build a just, equitable, and inclusive society.
---
*Student of IIM Ahmedabad

Comments

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Subaltern voices go digital: Three Indian projects rewriting history from the ground up

By A Representative A new wave of digital humanities (DH) work in India is shifting the focus away from university classrooms and English-language scholarship, instead prioritizing multilingual, community-driven archives that amplify subaltern voices . According to a review published in the Journal of Asian Studies , projects such as the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), the Oral History Narmada archive , and the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre are redefining how the country remembers its past — often without government funding or institutional support.

Beyond Lata: How Asha Bhosle redefined the female voice with her underrated versatility

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The news of iconic Asha Bhosle’s ‘untimely’ demise has shocked music lovers across the country. Asha Tai was 92 years young. Normally, people celebrate a passing at this age, but Asha Bhosle—much like another legend, Dev Anand—never made us feel she was growing old. She was perhaps the most versatile artist in Bombay cinema. Hailing from a family devoted to music, Asha’s journey to success and fame was not easy. Her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, had already become the voice of women in cinema, and most contemporaries like Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, and Noor Jehan had slowly faded into oblivion. Frankly, there was no second or third to Lata Mangeshkar; she became the first—and perhaps the only—choice for music directors and all those who mattered in filmmaking. Asha started her musical journey at age 10 with a Marathi film, but her first break in Hindustani cinema came with the film "Chunariya" (1948). Though she was not the first choice of ...

Search This Blog