Safai Karmachari Andolan counters govt reply in Parliament, claims manual scavenging still exists in atleast 46 districts | India News
NEW DELHI: Challenging the Centre’s claim made in Parliament in the monsoon session that a survey conducted in all districts of the country during the year 2024-25 found no person engaged as a manual scavenger, Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) on Tuesday brought together women from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and youth from Jammu & Kashmir claiming to be engaged in manual cleaning of human excreta in insanitary latrines to highlight that the illegal practice still persists in atleast 46 districts of these four states.National Convenor and co-founder of SKA, Bezwada Wilson said that they have evidence by way of photographs showing women lifting waste from dry latrines in these districts. “We will be writing to the ministry of social justice and empowerment to seek a fresh survey citing this evidence and demand action to stop the illegal practice in these districts within 60 days,” Wilson said.He, however, made it clear that if the ministry fails to act over the next two months, SKA teams will carry out a survey and put together a report by early next year. “We will highlight the findings across states and share them with Parliamentarians and the Judiciary to seek enforcement,” Wilson said.Former Supreme Court Judges Justice Madan Lokur and Justice Sudhandhu Dhulia and former Patna High Court Judge Justice Anjana Prakash expressed solidarity with the women and men who came forward to share heartwrenching experiences of a life marked by exploitation and untouchability despite the law in place wherein manual scavenging is illegal and dry latrines are banned.At the meeting held at Press Club of India as SKA announced the launch of a year long campaign ‘INDIA @ 80’ to free the country from manual scavenging, the former judges announced full support. Elaborating on the struggle by those involved in manual scavenging to break free, Justice Lokur expressed concern over the practice persisting despite the protection guaranteed by the Constitution of India against untouchability which is abolished and forbidden.He also dwelled on the long and continuing struggle for justice by those affected and how they have repeatedly ended up approaching the judiciary that has resulted in various directions from the Supreme Court from time to time. Justice Lokur highlighted that what is most worrying is the denial by authorities that the problem exists and the approach towards addressing the issue shows that ending the problem of manual scavenging is not a priority of the govt.He asserted that the govt must give priority to remove dry latrines wherever they remain. This he said should be a key focus area under the Swachh Bharat Mission.Justice Dhulia expressed shock that manual scavenging and dry latrines still exist in more than 40 districts and said that everyone must feel shame that such a practice continues to exist in our society.Justice Anjana Prakash too expressed concern over the lack of required efforts to end manual scavenging.As the workers shared their lived experiences as manual scavengers, one heard 71 – year – old Mussi Devi from Sitapur district in UP tell how her entire life has passed cleaning dry latrines and even now she is called by families in her area to manually clean-up and dispose of the waste. “When are we going to get freedom from this untouchability?,” asked Mussi Devi and others in her position. Ageing and frail, Devi is also the caregiver for her husband who is paralysed.35 – year – old Muzzafar Ahmed Sheikh from Jammu and Kashmir shared that he is the third generation in his family engaged in manual scavenging in dry latrines. He shared that his community is subjected to untouchability and even their houses are located in a separate cluster. He hails from Wussan village of Ganderbal. A father of a six – year – old, he says, “I want to break free from this identity of being a manual scavenger and I don’t want my son to grow up to do this ever.”Bezwada Wilson summed up the sentiment of all those seeking justice. “I started the fight when I was 16 and now I am 60. Many things have changed but manual scavenging in dry latrines still remains. We have to end this menace without fail,” he asserted.
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It is pertinent to point that in the monsoon session of Parliament that concluded in August, in response to a written question in Lok Sabha by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athawale said that as per the “Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (MS Act, 2013)”, a fresh survey has been conducted in all districts of the country during the year 2024-25 in which no manual scavenger has been found. “All the districts of the country have completed the survey and declared themselves as manual scavengers’ free,” he said.However, he also added that 58,098 Manual Scavengers (MS) have been identified during two earlier surveys conducted in 2013 and 2018.Clearly differentiating “manual scavenging” and “hazardous cleaning”, the minister shared while the later pertains to manual cleaning of a sewer or septic tank, without the employer providing protective gear, cleaning devices and safety precautions, a manual scavenger is defined as someone employed for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of human excreta in an insanitary latrine.
