Manual scavenging: Time to end this noxious practice

The stinking truth is finally out; manual scavenging continues to be the scourge of Indian society with as many as 246 of the total 766 districts in the country yet to declare themselves free from the inhuman practice.

According to a central monitoring committee, the number of sewer deaths among those who are forced to enter manholes and pits to clear blocks or clean them up is a staggering 1,056.

There is nothing more obnoxious than this age-old practice which makes the worker remove human excreta either by hand or with brooms or metal scrapers and carry it to dumping sites and sometimes water bodies.

As in any other sphere, there are enough rules to prohibit the practice – there exists for instance the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 which says enough about the need to stop scavenging.

But then rules are not just enough to stop social practices - massive campaigns and the infusion of huge funds for improving sanitation and for construction of toilets in both cities and in rural areas is a prerequisite for this to happen.

The deaths are also happening with alarming regularity - in a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai, three workers died after inhaling toxic fumes in a septic tank last year. This has also happened in the IT City and can be blamed on those who force these hapless humans to go deep into pits and manholes without the necessary protective equipment like safety jackets and gloves.

What adds to the misery of the scavenger is the series of ailments he or she could be susceptible to - they include bronchitis, tuberculosis, asthma, nausea and typhoid. And the saddest part of it is that they face discrimination of the worst kind - many of them are considered untouchables according to reports.

Karnataka is no exception when it comes to manual scavenging - reports a few years ago said that the state had about 2000 manual scavengers including many in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP limits.

The Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and the curbs and checks imposed by the Manual Scavenging Prohibition Act of 2013 have no doubt given an impetus to efforts to stop the practice wherever possible but has enough really been done?

Manual scavenging remains a big shame for every Indian with thousands or even lakhs of the poor and deprived engaged in an act which does no good to our sense of pride as worthy Indian citizens.

And if an Act imposed in 2013 which makes scavenging a criminal offence, has been unable to root out the practice, it obviously means that a lot more needs to be done to make sure that there are pipes and drainage systems to carry away excreta and the task is not imposed on human beings.

In finality, one would say that manual scavenging like any other undesirable practice like caste discrimination, gender bias and untouchability, are relics of a bygone age which continue to wield their grip on modern day society.

The government of the day will have to make a conscious and determined effort to make sure that every manual scavenger is honourably rehabilitated in an alternative profession which gives him a pride of place in society and adequate income.

It will have to be complemented with comprehensive efforts to ensure all Indians have access to a toilet system which does not necessitate the involvement of human beings in removing excreta.