Vulnerable workers

The Centre has informed the Lok Sabha that 400 people have died across the country during hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks since 2017. This year, 48 such deaths have been reported so far; 49 were recorded in 2021. The government has stated that no death linked to manual scavenging has taken place in this period. This abominable practice is defined as the lifting of human excreta from insanitary latrines, according to the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The Centre is bent on making a distinction between manual scavenging and cleaning of sewage and septic tanks, even though the latter involves no less insanitary and dehumanising work. Moreover, both practices are prohibited under the Act.

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While claiming that it has abolished manual scavenging, the Centre has said that the workers were paid Rs 39 crore in 2021-22 under the self-employment scheme for their rehabilitation. The government has also stated that it has paid compensation to most of the families of deceased sewer and septic tank workers. However, the fact remains that scant attention is being paid to the safety of these safai karamcharis. In 2019, the Supreme Court had given a dressing-down to the Centre for failing to provide them protective gear such as masks and oxygen cylinders. The rehabilitation of manual scavengers serves little purpose if they have to put their health and lives at risk inside sewers and septic tanks that emit poisonous gases.

Be it manual scavenging or sewer cleaning, the caste factor continues to determine who will do the dirty work. Members of the lowest of castes have been performing these tasks without any hope of finding a safe, dignified way of making a living. Despite being most deserving of the benefits of reservation, these underprivileged people helplessly watch their children being deprived of academic and employment opportunities by the wards of well-heeled bureaucrats and politicians. No wonder their one generation after another has to wade through the muck. The authorities should explore long-term solutions, such as mechanised cleaning operations, so that the workers and their families can escape the hell of the sewers and lead respectable lives.