REPORT

(BATCH 2018-21)
SUBMITTED
SKILL BY-
ENHANCEMENT
COURSE
VIDHI 15
RESEARCH
PUNEETI 27
METHODOLOGY
MEGHA RAO 39

SIMRAN BANSAL59

AKSHITA GUPTA 61

MANUAL SCAVENGINGMESHA GUPTA 89

DATE OF SUBMISSION-

13THOCTOBER,2019

SUBMITTED BY- (GROUP-07)

VIDHI (0518015)
PUNEETI (0518027)
MEGHA RAO (0518039)
SIMRAN BANSAL (0518059)
AKSHITA GUPTA (0518061)
MESHA GUPTA (0518089)

DATE OF SUBMISSION-
13THOCTOBER, 2019
 CONTENT

1. OBJECTIVE OF REPORT

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3. INTRODUCTION TO MANUAL SCAVENGING

4. HISTORY OF MANUAL SCAVENGING

5. MAJOR CASE STUDIES (RECENT)

6. INDEPTH CASE STUDIES

7. SURVEYS

8. STEPS TAKEN TO ERADICATE THIS SOCIAL EVIL

9. LIMITATION OF THE STEPS TAKEN AGAINST IT

10. LIMITATIONS OF OUR STUDY

11. CONCLUSION

12. WAY FORWARD

13. REFRENCE

OBJECTIVE OF REPORT-

The main objective of this report section is to draw attention towards manual scavenging which
still persists in India even after prohibition of manual scavengers .

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY-

RESEARCH is defined as the process which comprises of defining and redefining, formulating
hypothesis or suggested solution, collecting, organizing, and evaluating data, making deduction
and reaching conclusion and at last carefully testing the conclusion to testing to determine they
fit the formulating hypothesis. The project which is being implemented in the name of
“MANUAL SCAVENGING”

RESEARCH DESIGN-Descriptive research design is used in this study because it will ensure the
minimization of bias and maximization of reliability of data collected. Descriptive study is based
on some previous understanding of the topic; research has got a very specific objective and
clear-cut data requirements in order to make critical evaluation of the same.

DATA COLLECTION METHODS (Primary &Secondary both)- The data that has been collected for
this report hails from questionnaires.
A questionnaire is a written list of questions, the answers to which are recorded by
respondents.
The questions are clear and easy to understand. Also, the layout of a questionnaire is such that
it is easy to read and pleasant to the eye, and the sequence of questions should be easy to
follow.
Research work is also based upon secondary data in the form of articles and news clippings.
Case studies have been collected from the internet.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The research questions of the study were:

1. Is today’s youth aware about manual scavenging which is still prevalent in various
parts of the country in India?

2. Why is mobility in employment so skewed ?

SIGNIFICANCE OF REPORT

The findings of the study would be useful to various institutions involved in policy formulation,
development, and implementation. It would help tackle issues of oppressive manual scavenging
practice and livelihood of people. It is also hoped that the study would bring attitudinal changes
amongst people and increase awareness among people especially youth on manual scavenging
as it is a stinking legacy of suffocation and stigma.The report would help welfare officer to head
to implement strategies in place that would help to stop this practice. It would help
government to draw their attention towards the issue and take appropriate action to
rehabilitate the manual scavengers.
INTRODUTION TO MANUAL SCAVENGING

Manual scavenging is a term used mainly in India for the manual removal of untreated human
excreta from bucket toilets or pit latrines by hand with buckets and shovels. It has been
officially prohibited by law in 1993 due to it being regarded as a caste-based, dehumanizing
practice (if not done in a safe manner). It involves moving the excreta, using brooms and tin
plates, into baskets, which the workers carry to disposal locations sometimes several kilometers
away. The workers, called scavengers (or more appropriately "sanitation workers"), rarely have
any personal protective equipment. Manual scavenging is a caste-based occupation, with the
vast majority of workers involved being women..According to Socio Economic Caste Census
2011, 180,657 households are engaged in manual scavenging for a livelihood. The 2011 Census
of India found 794,000 cases of manual scavenging across India. The state of Maharashtra, with
63,713, tops the list with the largest number of households working as manual scavengers,
followed by the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Karnataka.

HISTORY
The link between India and caste is inseparable. According to Rig Veda, the people of our
country are classified into different classes. Thus, there are four types of Varna’s . The foremost
is the Brahman society which consists of priests and intellectual society class followed by the
Kshatriyas which includes warriors. The third Varna is the Vysias which includes merchants and
the last Varna is the Shruddas. The Brahman society was considered to be born from the mouth
of Brahma and the Kshtraiyas from the arms, Vysias from the thighs and atlastshruddas from
the legs of brahma. The shruddas are the downtrodden people, “they are called as Bhangis
which means broken or trash.” .This Caste-based social organization is governed by custom and
is enforced socially and economically.
In ancient times, since there were no modern toilets, Shruddas were forced to clean all those
dry toilets and collect the waste. Thus, the necessity for manual scavenging gradually arose in
the society. “Referring to contents of sacred scriptures and other literature, scavenging by
some specific caste of India exist since the beginning of civilization.”One of the 15 duties of
slaves enumerated in Naradiya Samhita was of manual scavenging. This continued during the
Buddhist and Mauraya period also. Unearthing from Lothal, which is considered as the
unmistakable urban communities of the old Indus valley civilization additionally, demonstrated
that as in Harappa, individuals had waterborne toilets in each house, cordiality to a very much
arranged waste framework made of consumed dirt blocks. To encourage operations and
upkeep of the seepage frameworks and sewer vents and chambers were additionally made.
History says that with the decrease of Indus Valley Civilization exploration of clean building held
up. Also standing framework is the most obsolete routine with regards to our nation and a large
number of individuals the nation over are enduring because of them. English India attempted to
build up govern of law and authorization of equity of with no sorts of segregation on the
premise of rank and religion and in this regard a few enactments like Charter Act of 1833 were
likewise organized. Still they were hesitant to alter the chain of command in the overarching
social request, as they were keen on these social divisions. This powerful standing framework
manures the intensions of British in India. It is an instance of hopeless, intrinsic spread which
can't be cleansed.

RECENT CASE STUDIES (YEAR-2019)

Reported in Times Of India

 9 deaths in 2 years, manual scavenging still thrives as

companies flout norms (April 16,2019)
GURUGRAM: The death of two workers while cleaning a septic tank in an
Automobile company near Khandsa on Sunday underscores the need by
authorities to strictly enforce the ban on manual scavenging. While the Prohibition of
Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 bans anyone from
employing people in the
cleaning of sewers, the practice continues on the ground, especially by private companies and
institutions. Over the past two years, at least seven other people have died in such cases. In
October 2017, three workers died while cleaning a septic tank in an industrial unit in Khandsa.
In May 2018, a worker died while cleaning a sewer line in Sector 9. Three people, who were
working on a sewage line in Pataudi, also lost their lives in June last. On Sunday, the two
workers, Shiv Kumar and Aslam, who were cleaning a septic tank at the manufacturing unit of
Sunbeam Auto Private Ltd, died after inhaling toxic gases. A third worker, Shailesh, is in
hospital. MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav said that as per the law, no one can employ a
person to clean sewers and septic tanks. “If anyone is responsible, they will be liable as per the
law,” said Yadav. Employers often hire migrant workers at a low cost for cleaning purposes and
do not even provide them with the required gear. The workers who died in the latest incident
were not wearing any protective gear while cleaning the tank. “Many automobile companies
hire laborers through contractors for cleaning purposes. They are made to enter septic tanks
where hazardous waste such as paint is disposed of, along with other waste. To cut costs, they
aren’t even provided with any safety gear,” said Naresh Malkat, secretary, Nagar Nigam Safai
Karmachari Union, which works with several sewer cleaners. He added that in most cases, an
FIR doesn’t lead to any action. “When three workers had passed away while cleaning a sewage
line in Khandsa two years ago, their families had to struggle to get the compensation,” said
Malkat. In Sunday’s incident, an FIR is yet to be registered even though a complaint has been
filed. Cops said that they were waiting for the victims’ families to arrive before taking further
action.
Sources, meanwhile, said negotiations are on between the Sunbeam Workers Union and the
management. “The families of the victims and the company management reached a settlement
of Rs 20 lakh each and we have decided not to pursue any legal action,” said Mukesh, president
of the union.

 Manual scavenging spotted, in T Nagar (July

21,2019)
CHENNAI: Greater Chennai Corporation doesn’t seem to be taking rules on solid waste
management seriously. Yet another instance of a conservancy worker clearing blocked sewer
lines without any safety gear has come to light — this time in T Nagar. A day after local
administration minister S P Velumani told the assembly that local bodies did not have the
practice of manual scavenging, TOI published pictures of men clearing a sewer in Koyambedu
on Friday. On Saturday, five workers employed by A V Pachaiyappa Enterprises, contracted by
the corporation, were seen manually cleaning sewers in T Nagar. On Lakshmi Narasimhan Salai
in T Nagar, the workers were scooping out sludge and silt from a sewer. When TOI
photographer started taking pictures, the supervisor at the spot stopped him. Later, chief
engineer for storm water drains department Nandakumar told TOI they had no other choice as
machines can’t enter these open drains. “We have placed orders for seven recyclers that are
used to clean drains in Mumbai and other cities. But these machines are too big for narrow
stretches. Moreover, our drain network is 1894-km long with silt formation of one to three
feet,” he said. About safety gear, executive engineer Chinnadurai said they had instructed
contractors and officials monitoring such work to ensure workers wear safety gear. “Often,
workers don’t comply and contractors don’t insist on it. We have issued a show cause notice to
the contractor.” The civic body said in the past one year, about 15 such notices have been
issued, but little has been done to create awareness or implement the norms. As per the solid
waste management rules, 2016, it was the duty and responsibility of the civic body to provide
safety equipment to its workers. Also, the Supreme Court and high court orders have stated
that such work cannot be carried out without safety gears. Jagadish Hiremani, a member of the
national commission for Safai Karamchari, told TOI, “The civic body cannot give lack of
equipment as an excuse to immerse workers into filth and sludge. The corporation claims only
five manual scavengers were identified as part of a re-survey that was conducted two months
ago. However, as per our records, there are more than 350 people engaged in such work. In
Andhra Pradesh, we identified 1,500 such workers, while the government refused to accept the
numbers. After we inspected and provided proof, they had to document it. We will do the same
in Chennai,” he said. S P Velumani could not be reached for a comment on the issue.

SURVEY -1 (In-depth case study)

Not very far from place where I live in sector 22A, Gurugram, is a village named ‘Dundahera’.
I’m familiar with this place since my grandfather owns some land there which has been rented
out to some immigrants. In fact majority of houses there have been rented out to these
immigrants from parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal. The situation here is
so suffocative, with a family of size 10-12 residing in one room. When I interacted with few
tenants, unemployment and irregular wages was one of their major problems. On further
questioning, I was quite astonished to hear answers. I asked about 12 peoples there.

S.NO. QUESTIONS YES NO NOT SURE

1. Have you heard about manual 12 0 0

scavengers?
2. Have you yourself done manual 7 5 0
scavenging?
3. Will you clean the sewer if I pay you 10 1 1
Rs. 200?
4. Do any of your family members 8 1 3
practice manual scavenging?
5. Do you know it is illegal? 1 11 0

7. Do you feel caste divide is reason for 12 0 0

this practice?
8. Do you find it disgusting to clean 11 0 1
someone else’s waste?

Many of these were ready to manually clean excrete without any equipment for just Rs. 200. I
talked to these people who practice this ill practice and here are few responses.

“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 disease and even to
lose my hair.”Said Saleem, who is also cleans road every morning 7 a.m. He further added, “I
have 6 children, I need to take care of them. In fact, my eldest son often comes with me”.
Laxmi, a maid who now works at big houses now, shared her past experience from her village
Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh. She said, “We had farming and labor work, but then if I go for
farming work I get threats from the panchayat—“If you don’t work, empty the house.” I was
afraid to lose my house. And the work disgusts me. So I came here to my ‘didi’, in 2017.”

Savita, one more immigrant sobbed and told her experience from Bihar, where she was
threatened for not cleaning there latrines. “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.”

A report of Human Rights Watch (HRW) (an international non-governmental organization,

headquartered in New York City that conducts research and advocacy on human rights)claims
that manual scavenging is a caste-based and hereditary occupation which violated the person
his basic rights. The report highlighted few personal interviews as a part of their survey. Few of
these are quoted below-

“The homes I worked for would give me stale chapatis and leftovers, dropped into my hand
from a distance. I was supposed to be paid Rs. 10 each month from each house. Sometimes, I
was not paid for months.”—Badambai, Neemuch district, Madhya Pradesh, January 2014

“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.
My husband went with me the next day and made me do it. I knew there was only this work for
me.”- Name not specified.

Neha, who has worked as a safaikarmachari, or sanitation worker, for the municipal
corporation in Bharatpur city, Rajasthan since 2004, explained her work:“I clean my area, these
two lanes. I clean twice a day because it is so dirty. I sweep the roads and I clean the drains. It is
extremely dirty because the houses here flush the excrement from the toilets directly into the
drains. I have to pick out the excreta, along with any garbage from the drains. We don’t get
anything from the government to protect us. No mask, no gloves, no shoes.”

It was not very long ago when I myself experience manual scavenging in my sector/locality.
There are 5 manholes in my lane. Of which one is major and biggest. This big one was being
cleaned with help of a big sucking machine. But the other 4 small man holes were manually
being cleaned by the ‘safaikaramcari’. Since my report was on them, I personally and orally
interviewed one of the sanitation worker.

Ques. Why are you not using the machine despite it being there?
Ans. We don’t know how to use it, ‘sahib log’ knows. They said they will give Rs.100 if we
clean this.
Ques. Don’t you know it may cause you health issues?
Ans. Who cares madam, I need to feed my children.
Ques. How often do you do this?
Ans. I do it on regular basis. Although wage differs from time to time, last I received Rs. 150.
Ques. Do you have any other job?
Ans. I collect dustbin waste in morning.
Ques. Do you know it’s illegal?
Ans. Yes, but if I don’t do this I won’t have enough to feed myself.

The situation is worst. Despite continuous government efforts and rising death rates, people
employed in manual scavenging have not declined. This practice is not only prevalent in rural
areas but also in urban areas. People like us are part of this exercise. Things that we disgusts
this much, that we don’t even feel like talking about are cleaned by these people. As per 2011
Socio Economic and Case Census, 182,505 rural households in India were dependent on manual
scavenging for income. India still has 26 Lakhs dry latrines. According to a report by NHRC,
nearly 1,500 people died while cleaning septic tanks in 2014-15.

In 2013, the ‘Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act
came into force. However, according to Bezwada Wilson, this law leaves people “helpless”. “In
the earlier Act, the district magistrate had the power to solve all the cases, but that’s not the
case with the current one. If the assigned public official isn’t doing his duty of identifying
manual scavengers and processing their rehabilitation, there is no mechanism to pull them up,”
media had quoted him saying. "The Act does not address critical aspects of provisions like the
rehabilitation of those who were liberated from manual scavenging before passing the law in
2013. Liberated manual scavengers regularly face brutal atrocity and violence. Therefore,
ensuring protection for these families is crucial,”
This “Nonexistent” profession is a big blot in India’s social conscience. The practice of caste-
based exclusion and discrimination thus necessarily involves failure of access and entitlements
not only to economic rights, but also to civil, cultural and political rights. It involves what has
been described as “living mode exclusion”; exclusion from political participation and exclusion
and disadvantage from social and economic opportunities.

Where families are employed by panchayats to clean dry toilets and open defecation, they are
often given government-sponsored housing and wages, and officials sometimes use this as
leverage to keep the families engaged in manual scavenging. Replicating customary
exploitation, some panchayats deny or delay wages, and worse, threaten to withdraw housing
if people no longer continue manual scavenging tasks.

Government intervention is needed to end caste-based labor designations that bind women
and men to manual scavenging. To overcome the entrenched obstacles discussed above,
individuals need immediate access to alternate livelihoods and housing, and an effective
government response when they face threats of violence.

The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013,
contains provisions aimed at rehabilitating people working as manual scavengers including one-
time cash assistance, scholarships for their children, housing, alternative livelihood support, and
other legal and programmatic assistance. Endorsing these provisions, the Supreme Court in
2014 directed all manual scavengers to be rehabilitated accordingly.
Under the 2013 Act, however, rehabilitation is left to be implemented under existing central
and state government schemes— the same set of programs that, to date, have not succeeded
in ending manual scavenging. One important reason for past failures to end manual scavenging
is that relevant government officials have not been held accountable.

SURVEY -2
We took an online survey of over a 100 people regarding manual scavenging and its awareness.
Majority of the samplers were between age 18-24 and they mainly consisted of students. Other
than them, samplers belonged to different age groups and professions. On being asked if they
have ever heard about the term manual scavenging, only 60% of them responded ‘Yes’, 5.7%
responded ‘Maybe’ and 34.3% of them had no idea what the term means. Majority of them, i.e.
58.1%, had never even taken into consideration the importance of this topic. We further see
that 64.8% of the samplers are not even aware of the steps taken by the government to stop
this practice while 21% of them were very much aware and 14.3% had some sort of idea about
it. It is quite shameful that even in this modern era, 2.9% people still believe that it is okay to
decide occupation of a person according to the caste they belong to, although the rest
disagreed. Around 68% samplers have never witnessed manual scavenging while 32% of them
have. On being asked if they have ever done anything to stop it, majority of them, around 96%,
responded with ‘No’ while only the rest 4% responded with ‘Yes’ who further said that even
after acting on it, they couldn’t make any change. And in the end, we asked people to write
their views on manual scavenging and steps we can take to get rid of it. We got a long list of
answers on this where they stated that manual scavenging is a dehumanizing practice,
dangerous and unsafe. It should, in no way, be related to any particular caste or race. And also,
the government is not doing its job very well and that even after more than 25 years of ban on
it, manual scavenging is still in practice. The steps majority of them suggested were more strict
laws, spreading awareness among people, up gradation of technology, monetary support to
scavengers and more public initiatives. So, from the whole survey it is quite evident that
majority of the people are not aware about such a delicate issue and there is a need to act upon
it. Both the people and the government need to work on it and put a stop on this ill practice.
Link for the form- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScwxujQRBxEGjGwagpajJX-
wxA3lbE55XM2DwdRFrjR9X8vmg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Initiatives for eradication

Legislation
During the past years, a no. of steps in the form of laws was implemented in the country to
eradicate the social evil named “manual scavenging” some of them were as follows:
  The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition)
Act, 1993
 After six states passed resolutions requesting the Central Government to frame a law,
The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition)
Act, 1993, drafted by the Ministry of Urban Development under the Narasimha Rao
government was passed by Parliament in 1993.
 The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition)
Act, 1993 punishes the employment of scavengers or the construction of dry (non-flush)
latrines with imprisonment for up to one year and/or a fine of Rs 2,000. [7] No
convictions were obtained under the law during the 20 years it was in force.
 The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act
2013 or M.S. Act 2013
 In December, 2013 Government has also formulated Rules-2013 called as "The
Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Rules 2013"
or "M.S. Rules 2013".
 The Movement for Scavenger Community (MSC) is an NGO founded in 2009 by Vimal
Kumar with young people, social activists, and like-minded people from the scavenger
community. MSC is committed to working towards the social and economic
empowerment of the scavenger community through the medium of education.
 In India in 1970s, Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak introduced his "Sulabh" concept for building
and managing public toilets in India, which has introduced hygienic and well-managed
public toilet systems. Activist Bezwada Wilson founded a group in 1994,
SafaiKarmachariAndolan, to campaign for the demolition of then newly illegal 'dry
latrines' (pit latrines) and the abolition of manual scavenging.
 The broad objective of the act was to eliminate unsanitary latrines and prohibit
employment of manual scavengers.

LIMITATIONS
Problems with Implementation and Accountability

1. Inadequate Surveys and Failure to Identify People Still Engaged in Manual Scavenging
2. Obstacles to Local Government Implementation of Rehabilitation Schemes
3. Lack of Accountability for Failing to End Manual Scavenging
4. Lack of Alternative Employment Opportunities
5. Inadequate Training Programs for Alternate Employment

Lack of Alternative Employment Opportunities

People engaged in manual scavenging rely upon the daily food donations they receive for
subsistence. In order to leave manual scavenging they must have immediate access to alternate
employment. These communities, however, face significant barriers to entering the labor
market, including social boycotts and economic boycotts in retaliation for refusing to clean
toilets in the village, gender- and caste-based discrimination in access to employment, and
corruption, such as being asking to pay bribes in order to be appointed to reserved government
positions. For many, these obstacles are exacerbated by low education levels and an absence of
marketable skills. Recognizing the need to facilitate access to alternate employment, the 2013
Act contains provisions aimed at securing income—namely, training in livelihood skills and
access to loans to take up other occupations on a sustainable basis. While successful vocational
training and loans may offer long-term livelihood options, they do not meet the immediate
need for employment that households require for survival. Moreover, people from these
communities report significant difficulties in accessing and benefiting from existing training and
loan schemes. While the rehabilitative provisions specified in the 2013 Act do not facilitate
immediate access to employment, The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA), a legislative enactment of India’s constitutional commitment
to the right to work, has the potential to provide immediate livelihood security. This potential
avenue, however, is not easily accessible to individuals who practice or previously practiced
manual scavenging.

SOURCE: www.hrw.org

LIMITATIONS OF OUR STUDY

 One of the main limitation or the gap between what all we wanted to present and what
all we have presented was limited access to data. Manual scavenging is a crime that is
prevalent in almost all parts of India but if we go in deep then Maharashtra is one such
state where it is the most prevalent . but due to limited access of data we were not able
to cover that phase .
 Resource limitation being another problem that includes access to more participants ,
limited use of sampling techniques to collect data in a much more vibrant manner, time
duration, etc.
 Also, our survey was not that formal as it was basically taken from village people, who
are not much educated , leading to communication gap , and that’s why we were not
able to take there opinions through filling of questioners. It was merely through a
sought of face to face interview. The condition was so miserable that they were even
not able to read Hindi . so yes! That was a big limitation.
 Time constraint will always be one of the main reason given by a student as a certain
deadline is provided . so, it seems that if we would have more time then we would
definitely have covered more issues.
 Also, while going through the data provided by human rights organization . we came to
know about the villages where the Sarpanch handles all the manual scavengers . but we
were not able to access those villages .
 CONCLUSION
So, through this report on manual scavenging we tried to cover every aspect of such a big
problem . starting from telling about what it is , to covering it’s history, prevalence , some real
life incidences , surveys, and finally ending up with the steps taken to curb this social evil and
what all more can be done in this specific sector to remove this evil from roots , we have
definitely created an impact on the minds of readers. Further more, we have prepared a
questionnaire which has got an overwhelming response by the people. And it’s interesting to
know that a large majority of people are aware of this social evil , many have also worked in this
sphere to stop it. Basically , the root cause of manual scavenging is caste based inequality , it
reflects the inability of individuals and groups like that of scavengers to interact freely and
productively with others and to take part in full economic, social and political life of the
community. To improve the living and working condition of manual scavengers all over India,
there is a need to set an agenda for their overall transformation. It can be through provision of
alternative livelihoods, abolishment of dry toilets and imparting free education to children.
There are several possible fields in which former manual scavengers can work and earn an
alternative livelihood. It is possible to provide jobs in agricultural sector. With a little training in
mathematics they can also work as vegetable and fruit sellers. The life of scavengers can be
improved, especially of women and children by providing them good quality education through
well-trained, open-minded teachers. Such schools should not only implement mid-day meal
scheme, but should also provide the evening food to the children of the socially downgraded
people, so that their parents will not face any additional burden of nurturing their children. For
the adult members of the scavenger community, education is essential to train them for
alternative ways of living. We all have to do this collectively , today’s one step of our’s can
change the life of millions of those waiting for sunshine in their dark world . So, let’s take
pledge today that on this International Worker’s Day (May 1) we all will contribute something
for those people who have always helped us in leading forward our lives.

THE WAY FORWARD

These are some of the ways or measures that can be taken to eradicate manual scavenging and
save the lives of those in need :

 Identify all individuals currently engaged in manual scavenging and make them aware
about the various laws provided by the government to them , so that they can come
out from that hell.
  The government by adding manual scavenging as a topic in the curriculum of student
in schools and colleges can help in creating awareness among children as well right
from the primary level.
 Anybody who sees any type of such practice being practiced around them should
immediately click pictures, make videos and send it to various government
rehabilitation sites.
 If someone can financially help them or can give any type of donation be it be books,
food , clothes then they must do this noble cause.
 As a part of rehabilitation the government can provide startup loans to them so that
they can start up with a new life.
 The children of manual scavengers may be given good quality education. This will also
help in human resource development and help in increasing the literacy level.
 And yes! One of the most important step is, we as individuals should at least try to do ,
in fact even try to think what they are doing ? Are they our servants? Noo! They too
are human beings, they also have desires. So who are we to order them ! Hence, we all
should do at least one thing for their betterment. We have started, now the turn is
yours.

REFERENCES

 Newspaper
o Times of India
o The Hindu
 Various books on human rights
 www.hrc.org
 Census 2011
 www.pib.gov.in (press information bureau)