Editorial: End scourge of manual scavenging

The harsh reality is that over 95% of India’s 1.3 million manual scavengers are women

Not often discussed in the media, the dehumanising and abominable practice of manual scavenging is a blot on any civilised society. The fact that such a profession exists is a matter of collective shame for India. Though this inhuman form of sanitation work was banned a decade ago, it still persists across the country leading to a large number of deaths of workers engaged in sewer line repair and cleaning without critical safety measures. In addition to the social stigma and isolation, they are also exposed to serious health hazards. The recent death of four labourers in Punjab while cleaning a tank at a meat plant once again brings to the fore the unfortunate fact that people are still made to work in hazardous conditions without protective gear and oxygen — in contravention of the norms. Despite the manual scavenging Act of 2013 prohibiting the deployment of people for such tasks and making it a punishable offence, the practice still persists. The Act also includes manual cleaning of sewers, septic tanks, drains and manholes under the definition of ‘manual scavenging’. This was necessitated by the high rate of deaths at work among manual scavengers and other cleaners — all of them belonging to the poverty-ridden lower castes. As per the official data, manual scavenging led to 376 deaths during the period 2017-2022. Adding insult to injury, the ill-fated victims’ families are often made to run from pillar to post to get the promised compensation.

Manual scavenging is a degrading profession and it needs solutions that are technologically suitable, economically driven, socially responsible and sensitive. Unfortunately, this work has been associated with certain castes and communities which has resulted in social discrimination and stigmatisation of people engaged in manual scavenging. Last year, the government announced that scavenging work would be completely mechanised. It has formulated the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) for the safety of sewer workers. This project, envisaging deploying trained workers using machines for hazardous cleaning jobs, must be expedited. At present, the harsh reality is that over 95% of India’s 1.3 million manual scavengers are women. Despite such overwhelming numbers and enough evidence pointing to serious health consequences directly resulting from this kind of work, successive governments have failed to effectively implement the available laws and programmes. Since manual scavengers do not use protective gear and work in extremely unhygienic conditions, they are relentlessly exposed to harmful gases such as hydrogen sulphide and methane, often resulting in respiratory illnesses and cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders. They also suffer from skin problems such as psoriasis. Carbon monoxide poisoning, diarrhoea, nausea and tuberculosis are some of the other health problems faced by manual scavengers. According to Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) data, most women manual scavengers have an average lifespan of only 40-45 years due to a combination of health issues.

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