Manual Scavenging - India's deadliest job costs 1 life every 5 days

MANUAL SCAVENGING

Manual Scavenging is the unsafe manual handling of raw faeces of humans. The International Labour Organization describes three forms of manual scavenging in India:

•  Removing human excrement from public streets and dry latrines (meaning simple pit latrines without a water seal, but not dry toilets in general)
• Septic tanks cleaning 
• Gutters and sewers cleaning

This practice is prevalent in other countries in the names of night men, night soil collectors, gong farmers, dunny men and so on. But most of those countries have found alternatives and preventive measures to this excruciating job.

HOW IT BECAME SINNER’S JOB IN INDIA?

There are evidences for the existence of manual scavenging in ancient India where slaves are used to do this work. As the time and civilization grows, this practice has also grown up with the society and became as caste based occupation still remains inerasable from the country.

Cleaning the faeces of co- humans makes this job vulnerable and mostly the people belonging to scheduled castes who do this work remain as untouchables. The work these people do in sewers, septic tanks, railway tracks and in dry toilets are cleaning, carrying and disposing of human excreta. It may be the most nauseating work for many people but manual scavengers are forced to do this work for their livelihood and whom are made to suffer, suffocate and asphyxiated to death in choked sewers and underground pits. And people who clean dry toilets are mostly women suffer by diseases that has its effect over generations. People who are made to work without gloves, masks and other such necessary safety gears would make this work worse and that is how cleaning and keeping the place hygienic became a sinner’s job in India.

INITIATIVES TAKEN TO ERADICATE THIS CRIME

Being VIOLATIVE OF ARTICLE 14(equality before law), ARTICLE 17(abolition of untouchability), ARTICLE 21 (right to life) and ARTICLE 23 (prohibition of human trafficking & forced labour) of Indian Constitution, there has been many steps taken by the government to outlaw manual scavenging.

There was a survey in which planning commission which estimated 72.05 lakh dry latrines which has been manually cleaned by the manual scavengers in the country. Among the scavengers, 95% are dalits (scheduled caste people) compelled to do this inhuman task under the name of traditional occupation, thereby they are socially and economically exploited. Hence to deprecate this practice, government constituted National Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation in 1989 to provide financial assistance and also formulated a scheme known as Low cost sanitation for liberation of scavengers to eliminate manual scavenging. The scheme has been made to construct new sanitary latrines and to convert existing dry latrines into water pour flush latrines.

To liberate and rehabilitate the scavengers and their dependents, government launched a scheme in 1992 called as 'National Scheme of Liberation and Rehabilitation of Scavengers and their Dependents.' In the year 1993, the Parliament enacted the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993. Further National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act has been made to regulate and implement the schemes for manual scavengers. After some 25 years of all these schemes, initiatives and awareness made, INDIA STILL COUNTS 1 DEATH IN EVERY 5 DAYS.

ROLE OF JUDICIARY

Safai Karamchari Andolan and others Vs Union Of India And others, It is the case in which rehabilitation of manual scavengers has been ensured and also government assured alternative employment opportunities whereby sanctioned loan to those workers.

Recent judgments:

Vinay Kumar Vs State Of Karnataka on 4 December 2018, in which petitioner (manual scavenger) applied for loan but the same has not been sanctioned and he filed a writ petition before the court.

Rajesh and another Vs Delhi Jal Board and others on 27 February 2018, the court directed the contractors not to employ scavengers for the work of cleaning and distilling sewer lines, if so, the workers should be provided with safety measures and guidelines regarding compensation for the death of those workers during the course of employment has been laid down.

The Judges have made several guidelines regarding the protection given to scavengers and alternative employment opportunities to them. And on several occasions, they directed the Central and State Governments to monitor and implement the welfare schemes made to the manual scavengers. The laws, the schemes and the acts which stay vigil, the problem is with implementation. The role of Central and State governments to eradicate this practice remains questionable.

WHY MANUAL SCAVENGING REMAINS INEXTRICABLE?

This is the problem of human minds that made manual scavenging inextricable from the Indian society. The people who do this work are mostly from Valmiki community (belongs to Scheduled Caste), even when they start to do any other works, they are not recognised by the other community people. The people from this community are excluded from any jobs other than cleaning the pits. It is one of the major flaws while rehabilitating these workers, they lack confidence and highly demotivated to take other jobs. The leader of Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) Bezwada Wilson who says manual scavenging is the most inhuman, barbaric and undignified practice worse than slavery.

Another main cause for the existence of this job is the government which lags implementation and the Indian railways who still search and hire these workers through contractors to clean the railway tracks. The Indian authorities and the respective state governments undercounting the number of manual scavengers in their state and hence the government has always been accused for burying the problem. The death rate in this job is quite high but the government surveys estimate it less. Though the technology has been developed to create mini jetting machines, spider shaped robots to clean the manholes and sewers with precision, still the scavengers are hired to do such works who are considered to be cost efficient. Hence it is a social issue which should be eradicated by sensitising the people about its ill effects.

BE THE CHANGE

The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.Instead of cursing the government and blaming the laws, we being the responsible citizens of India should treat everyone equal and strive hard to eliminate this crime from the country. Nothing will be changed, unless we change. 

The changes should include:

•  Inspire the manual scavengers and make them to involve in alternative jobs.
• The National Safai karmachari Commission should get more updated to the new initiatives and report the exact details of existing insanitary latrines and manual scavengers in the country.
• The government should fund the municipalities to have the machines for cleaning the sewers and to provide protective equipment to the workers.

Reference:

1. http://nja.nic.in/P-950_Reading_Material_5-NOV 15/6.%20Safai_Karamchari_Andolan.pdf
2. https://indiankanoon.org/search/formInput=%22manual%20scavengers%22%20%20%20doctypes%3A%20judgments&pagenum=0
3. https://iasscore.in/society/manual-scavenging
4. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/19/death-toll-of-indian-sewer-cleaners-revealed-for-first-time
5. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/04/im-born-to-do-this-condemned-by-caste-indias-sewer-cleaners-risk-death-daily
6. https://jilsblognujs.wordpress.com/2014/07/14/supreme-court-judgement-striving-to-fully-eradicate-manual-scavenging-in-india-another-attempt-in-vain/
7. https://newsd.in/six-manual-scavengers-die-every-month-in-india/
8. http://in.one.un.org/page/breaking-free-rehabilitating-manual-scavengers/
9. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/over-20500-manual-scavengers-identified-in-india-survey/articleshow/66043626.cms
10. https://thewire.in/caste/after-25-years-of-broken-promises-india-is-counting-its-manual-scavengers-again
11. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/waste/manual-scavenging-a-stinking-legacy-of-suffocation-and-stigma-61586
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_scavenging
13. https://www.popxo.com/2018/04/bharat-bandh-dalit-women-in-india/