By Priyanka Rawat
The group of people referred to here, might be able to foresee the results of Swacch Bharat campaign better than a multitude of academicians and engineers, without any pie charts and graphs. For them “Ache din ayenge” might just mean that they get to live another day, after spending their average 12-hour-day of work, toiling in the dark, being exposed to deadly gases.
They don’t chant the popular slogan“Sabka saath sabka vikas,” as for them their future literally lies in the gutter. These are the manhole cleaners of India, also known as manual scavengers, who risk their lives to unclog the sewer lines in India, so we can carry on with our lives normally, above the ground. Often covered in black soot, standing in chest high sewage water scum, devoid even of a cup of tea and carrying filth on their heads making its way to their faces, is a common description of a manual scavenger.
A manhole which channels sewage from homes, businesses, and industries to wastewater treatment plants, oozes with deadly gases such as hydrogen sulfide, methane, and carbon monoxide. Presence of such deadly gases only means that the only way to breathe, to live, is to come out of the hole, but the workers often succumb to asphyxiation, as they are forced to work without any of the 44 listed pieces of equipment, let alone oxygen cylinders, as laid out in Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
Yes, there is an entire statute dedicated to the prohibition of such practices, in fact, manual scavenging was declared illegal in 1993, still many are forced to work with sticks, scrapers and bare hands while wearing just a loincloth. Apart from the hellish stench, these workers often encounter human excreta, dead animal carcasses,and sharp objects, exposing them to extreme filth and danger.
According to the data collected by Magsaysay award-winner, Bezwada Wilson’s Safai Karmachari Andolan, in 2017 alone, India’s sewer system killed 90 people. More than 95% of sewer workers are Dalits, once known as “untouchables,” according to the government’s figures. Labor activist, Milind Ranade, said the jobs still exist because of widespread apathy toward Dalits, who remain severely marginalized, despite efforts to end caste-based discrimination.
Would you be willing to clean the dirty crevices of the city for a paltry sum of Rs.300, knowing that one day you might not go back to the family you have been working for? Would you resort to liquor to numb your senses, so you can go back to the putrid hole? No, right? Then why are we alright knowing that someone else is living that dreadful life repeatedly, and no one is doing anything about it in one of the fastest growing economies? I believe that the stench of our so-called humanity is stronger than the stench of any manhole found in our nation.
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Sources:
More Indians Die Cleaning Sewers Than Fighting Terrorists In Kashmir
India’s Sewer Cleaners Keep Working Despite Ban On Job