Abject poverty prevents his children from going to school

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 10

The manual scavengers are living a life of despair. Even as their jobs involve huge risk, they are not given proper tools and safety gear.

Bathinda Tribune visited the house of manual scavenger Bira to have a glimpse into his life and the problems he is facing.

Bira said he was working on contract with the Triveni company, which is managing sewerage and water works in the city.

He gets Rs 6,300 per month of which he pays Rs 3,000 as house rent.

He has four children and no one is going to school as he says that he doesn’t have money to pay the school fees.

When asked how he managed his affairs, Bira said his wife worked at a private hospital where she gets Rs 6,000 a month. His elder daughter also works as domestic help in houses.

They are just able to get three meals a day as expenses such as electricity bill and mobile bills are also to be made.

Bira said the life of manual scavengers and sewermen was so distressing that he would never allow his kids to take up this job.

“We are not given any uniform or safety gear. We ask for tools and only after repeated requests do we get them,” he said.

When asked what other options he had, he said he couldn’t do any other work as he was left with no time to spare in this job.

He said as per the DC rate, they should get Rs 9,133 per month but they were getting it.

Bira demanded that their salaries should be hiked so that they could live a better life.

Moreover, they are not aware of any law framed for them by the government, he added.

Officials of the district administration have not paid any attention to it. The tragic part is that they have never been able to voice their concerns.