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

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.

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

What's behind Donald Trump's 'narco-state' accusation against Venezuela

By Manolo De Los Santos The US government has revived its campaign to label Venezuela a "narco-state", accusing its top leadership of drug trafficking and slapping hefty bounties on their heads for capture. This campaign, which only momentarily took a backseat, is a strategic fabrication, not a factual assessment. This accusation, particularly amplified under the Trump Administration, is a calculated smokescreen to justify a long-standing agenda: the overthrow of the Venezuelan government and the seizure of its vast oil and mineral resources. A closer examination of the facts reveals a country that has actively fought drug trafficking on its own terms and a US government with a clear and consistent history of destabilizing independent countries in Latin America.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857 By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman* Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Fate of Yamuna floodplain still hangs in "balance" despite National Green Tribunal rap on Sri Sri event

By Ashok Shrimali* While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday reportedly pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for granting permission to hold spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival on the banks of Yamuna, the chief petitioners against the high-profile event Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has declared, the “fate of the floodplain still hangs in balance.”

Counterview

Search This Blog