What Is Manual Scavenging?
Manual scavenging is a term predominantly used in India for manually disposing of and cleaning human excreta and other organic and inorganic waste from a septic tank, pit, open drain, sewer, etc. In India, tools like buckets, broomsticks or spades are used normally for cleaning the excreta. No equipment is provided for protection from harmful gases and germs.
This practise is widespread in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In India, this occupation is associated with caste. This is because all these activities are considered at a lower level and Dalits are a particular caste that is obliged to serve as garbage collectors, sanitation workers, cleaners of drains, etc.
Dalits have to do this because of the ancient caste system. In ancient India in the Vedic time (1500-1000 BCE), citizens were divided according to castes or varnas and varnas defined customs, type, colour and belief of a newborn.
There were four categories of varnas: Brahmins (teachers, priests, scholars), Kshatriyas (king, administrators, etc.), Vaishyas (merchants, traders, etc.) and Shudras (labourers).
The first indication of varnas was found in Purusha Suktam’s verse of Sanskrit Rig Veda; this had a combination of four varnas. Brahmins represented the mouth, Kshatriyas its weapons, Vaishyas its thighs and Shudras its feet. This system was followed to maintain the purity of the caste and to establish immortal order. Also, specific rules and tasks were appointed to each varna.
Shudras had various restrictions upon them. But the Mahabharata supported the incorporation of Shudras in ashrams and learning the Vedas. A Shudra man was only allowed to marry a Shudra woman, but Shudra women could marry any four varnas.
The Shudras had to serve Brahmins in their ashram, Kshatriyas in their palaces and Vaishyas in their activities. Many of them were not allowed to be traders or enter occupations of Vaishyas and they were not even given adequate income and respect.
Dalits were excluded from the four varnas and were seen forming the fifth varna known as Panchama. They were untouchables and did the cleaning, collecting garbage, etc. Shudras are now regarded as other backward classes, whereas dalits as scheduled castes.
In India, Dalits come under the category of lower caste and that’s why, due to the caste system, they are obliged to do this occupation. They constitute 17% of the population and are provided with 16% of reservations.
How Is Wastewater Treated In Other Countries?
In the U.S. wastewater treatment plants process water from different places like homes and businesses which contains different wastes like soaps, detergents, human excreta, food, etc. Wastewater from different places is sent to treatment plants where many impurities are removed.
In the U.S., approximately 34 billion gallons of wastewater is processed every day. Once the water is cleaned and observed by state and federal authorities, it is generally released into a local water body, becoming a source of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Some wastewater treatment plants can remove nitrogen and phosphorus from the discharge depending on the equipment.
Various methods are tried to remove nitrogen and phosphorus as much as possible as it leads to pollution. Around 20% of homes in the U.S. use septic systems to treat their wastewater. When septic tanks are not properly treated, it can cause the release of nitrogen and phosphorus in the local bodies.
It was estimated that 10%–20% of septic tanks failed in their functional life. Some causes of septic tank failures include developing infrastructure, inappropriate design, overloading with too much wastewater and improper maintenance. Homeowners are responsible for maintaining their septic systems in most cases.
In the U.K., septic tanks are used to discharge wastewater into a land drainage system, not a ditch or watercourse, and are suitable for households of 4–38 and from 1–12 houses. An exposure test is needed to be carried on the subsoil before any Sewage Plant or Septic Tank can be installed. This allows the correct size of a sewer to be designed.
Many Sewage Systems and Septic Tanks suffer from abandonment, with failure to swamp a Septic Tank at regular intervals being the main cause. If the solids and slush are allowed to build up within the tank, higher levels of suspended solids within the sewage enter the drainage field, which in turn could cause premature failure with costly results.
Sometimes, there are sewer failures due to lack of maintenance and improper cleaning. Normal sewers, land drains, pumped systems or boreholes are just a few options available for land drainage.
A Packaged Sewage Treatment Plant (PSTP) is a more environmentally friendly solution to septic tanks. This cleaning process uses mechanical elements to help break down solids to form sewage that’s cleaner and accepted by the Environmental Agencies for discharge into a canal as well as drainage fields.
Hartley Services plans to design, supply, install and maintain the PSTP for single domestic households to commercial buildings, schools, public houses and hotels.
In Malta(a country in Europe) till 2011, out of 80% of the wastewater generated in Malta was discharged into water bodies and it impacted marine life and led to pollution. The EU wastewater treatment project made sure that wastewater collected in sewerage networks in the south of Malta was treated before discharge.
The project was part of a broader national strategy to make sure of continual sewage treatment. It represented the first step in reusing treated sewage to solve problems concerning the exploitation of water levels, underground layers of water-bearing rock. Also, The European Environment Agency recognised the country for having some of the best bathing water in the EU.
Also, different diseases have been reduced by preventing discharge of untreated water and it has led to an increase in fishing industries and tourism. Also, Malta ranks first for wastewater treatment management.
In Luxembourg, the discharge is collected in pipelines and it covers an area of 600 km. Some are designed for separate wastewater and rainwater. Around 23,000 m cube of rainwater can be used and harvested. Around 17,500 m cube of mixed wastewater can be composed in storm basins (ponds to store rainwater then can be filtered from sediments) before releasing it in water bodies during heavy rainfall.
The new water treatment plant in Beggen has a capacity of 2,10,000 population alternative, has been functioning since March 2012 and is very effective in treatment yield.
India’s Sanitation Workers
As mentioned above, in India, Dalits are specifically the people who clean human excreta and other organic and inorganic waste from septic tanks, pits, open drains, sewers, etc.
For manual scavenging in Hong Kong, 2 years of extensive training is provided to acquire about 15 licenses and the workers are given oxygen cylinders and full bodysuits.
Manual scavenging in maintenance holes is dreadful as the decomposition of garbage and other litter leads to increased levels of methane, ammonia, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide. It ultimately reduces oxygen level and can lead to immediate death as it causes hypoxemia (a low amount of oxygen in the blood).
Manual scavenging is banned under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act of 2013. In 1993, this caste-related practice was banned, but it still continues. It was reported that UP has the highest number of sanitation workers. Also, in the two surveys in 2013 and 2018, 58,098 sanitation workers were identified across the country and 941 died while cleaning the sewers.
Tamil Nadu has reported the highest number of deaths, 213, followed by 153 in Gujarat, 98 in Delhi, 104 in UP, 84 in Karnataka and 73 in Haryana.
In September 2020, it was reported that the government was planning to introduce a new bill that would reinforce the law against manual scavenging would mechanise sewer cleaning and prevent these deaths. But the bill was drafted without any discussions and currently, it’s stated that the bill is in progress.
Proper equipment like bodysuits should be provided. Machines should be used to take out the wastes. A proper sewage system should be built. Sewage lines should be covered. It should not be based on the caste system and a manual scavenger’s child should not be a manual scavenger.
I would conclude that things are changing, but we still have a long way to go.