Manual scavenging in India!!

What is Manual Scavenging

The presence of dry latrine poses a challenge in completing the sanitation chain. In India, people belonging to a specific caste, people in the Dalit community, are forced to complete this chain – The MANAUAL SCAVENGERS Manual scavenging is considered one of the lowest, polluted and most degrading occupations. The caste system dictates that those born into a particular Dalit sub-caste should engage in manual scavenging, and should remain doing so throughout their lives thereby denying them the right to lead a dignified life. Government data indicates that the inhuman profession of Manual Scavenging still exists in the country and that there are more than 11000 such manual scavengers in the country. 86% of them are in Uttar Pradesh alone. There are 11 states which have manual scavengers even today. Despite the parliament enacting a legislation to prohibit manual scavenging, it goes on and the funds allocated for rehabilitation are hardly spent. Dry Latrines The presence of dry latrines is one of the primary reasons why manual scavenging exists till date despite being banned under the constitution via various legislations.  As per the 2011 census data, latrines from which night soil is manually removed exist in all states except for the states of Goa, Sikkim and the UTs of Chandigarh and Lakshadweep. There are a total of 7,94,390 dry latrines in the country with Uttar Pradesh having as high as 3,26,082 and Andaman islands as low as 11. Uttar Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir & West Bengal together account for 80% of all the dry latrines in the country. Nine states have more than 10000 dry latrines each and Ten States/UTs have less than 1000 dry latrines each. Current laws on Manual Scavenging The current laws had not proved adequate in eliminating the twin evils of insanitary latrines and manual scavenging. The Parliament has enacted the ‘Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013’. The law has come into force on Dec 6th 2013 in whole of country, except Jammu & Kashmir. The act intends to Eliminate the insanitary latrines. Prohibit Employment as Manual Scavengers Hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. Survey of Manual Scavengers and their rehabilitation An initial one-time cash assistance Scholarship to the children of manual scavenger Allotment of residential plot and financial assistance for house construction of a ready built house Training in a livelihood skill with payment of stipend of at least Rs 3000 per month Provision for subsidy, along with concessional loans, to at least one adult member of the family The act also has provisions for the following measures for the rehabilitation of the identified manual scavengers Select Testimonies from the Report “The first day when I was cleaning the latrines and the drain, my foot slipped and my leg sank in the excrement up to my calf. I screamed and ran away. Then I came home and cried and cried. I knew there was only this work for me.” — Sona, Bharatpur city, Rajasthan, June 2013 “I clean in 20 houses. They give me roti [flat bread]. They don’t give more than two rotis, but they do give us something. My husband does farm work, but work in the fields does not come every day. If I do this work, at least we will have something to eat.” — Shanti, Mainpuri district, Uttar Pradesh, January 2014 “I studied commerce and banking, but I couldn’t find work. Even though I am educated, the village council hired me to clean toilets because I am from this community.” — Kailash Pokerji Kundare, Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, March 2014 “We went to the panchayat [local council] members and said, please give us some work. The work they gave, my work, was to clean the gutter, clean excrement from roads, clean the toilets, clean the village, and remove garbage. It is our caste. They will not give us any better work to do. Nothing that would give us dignity.” — Gopal Harilal Bohit, Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, March 2014 “They called our men and said ‘If you don’t start sending your women to clean our toilets, we will beat them up. We will beat you up.’ They said, ‘We will not let you live in peace.’ We were afraid.” — Gangashri, Mainpuri district, Uttar Pradesh, January 2014 “I had to work with my head veiled. During the rains, my clothes would become drenched with excrement. They would not dry. The house would smell. I started to get skin diseases and even to lose my hair.” — Badambai, Neemuch district, Madhya Pradesh, January 2014 “The manual carrying of human feces is not a form of employment, but an injustice akin to slavery. It is one of the most prominent forms of discrimination against Dalits, and it is central to the violation of their human rights.” — Ashif Shaikh, founder of Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan, a grassroots campaign to end manual scavenging, May 2014 The legality of scavenging Advocates Clifton D’ Rozario and Maitreyi Krishnan - who were responsible for taking the issue of manual scavenging to the Karnataka High court - said, "these dehumanising [definitions] are the very practice due to which the manual scavenging community has been stigmatised, ostracised and discriminated. [It] is now being proudly promoted as a career option".  Manual scavenging is the obnoxious and inhuman act of manually removing human excrement from dry latrines. It usually involves using bare hands and tin plates. According to government data there are 11,635 manual scavengers in the country, with 86 per cent residing in Uttar Pradesh. Though there have been big promises by the government, but the same government listed  MANUAL SCAVENGING as a job!! Pity. #Satyam_Bruyat