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

India's chemical industry: The missing piece of Atmanirbhar Bharat

By N.S. Venkataraman* Rarely a day passes without the Prime Minister or a cabinet minister speaking about the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat . The Start-up India scheme is a pillar in promoting this vision, and considerable enthusiasm has been reported in promoting start-up projects across the country. While these developments are positive, Atmanirbhar Bharat does not seem to have made significant progress within the Indian chemical industry . This is a matter of high concern that needs urgent and dispassionate analysis.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Remembering a remarkable rebel: Personal recollections of Comrade Himmat Shah

By Rajiv Shah I first came in contact with Himmat Shah in the second half of the 1970s during one of my routine visits to Ahmedabad , my maternal hometown. I do not recall the exact year, but at that time I was working in Delhi with the CPI -owned People’s Publishing House (PPH) as its assistant editor, editing books and writing occasional articles for small periodicals. Himmatbhai — as I would call him — worked at the People’s Book House (PBH), the CPI’s bookshop on Relief Road in Ahmedabad.

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.

Ahmedabad's Sabarmati riverfront under scrutiny after Subhash Bridge damage

By Rosamma Thomas* Large cracks have appeared on Subhash Bridge across the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, close to the Gandhi Ashram . Built in 1973, this bridge, named after Subhash Chandra Bose , connects the eastern and western parts of the city and is located close to major commercial areas. The four-lane bridge has sidewalks for pedestrians, and is vital for access to Ashram Road , Ellis Bridge , Gandhinagar and the Sabarmati Railway Station .

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

No action yet on complaint over assault on lawyer during Tirunelveli public hearing

By A Representative A day after a detailed complaint was filed seeking disciplinary action against ten lawyers in Tirunelveli for allegedly assaulting human rights lawyer Dr. V. Suresh, no action has yet been taken by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, according to the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Search This Blog