Manual scavenging continues unabated
An estimated 13 lakh people continue to manually remove human excreta in the country, 14 years after it was prohibited by a legislation, mainly due to lack of coordination between the Centre and state governments, say rights groups.
By PTI |
CHENNAI: An estimated 13 lakh people continue to manually remove human excreta in the country, 14 years after it was prohibited by a legislation, mainly due to lack of coordination between the Centre and state governments, say rights groups.
Despite being made punishable under Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act 1993 and allocation of funds to rehabilitate the workers, the practice of manual scavenging continues, Bezwada Wilson of Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) said.
"The disgraceful practice of one human being removing another person's excreta happens at a time when India aspires to become an economic super power," Wilson rued.
Echoing his view, Dr Bindeswar Pathak of Sulabh International alleged that the complacency of the Centre and state governments has made the practice of manual scavenging perpetuate.
According to Planning Commission statistics of 1989, there were around six lakh scavengers engaged in the tasks of removing and transporting night soil. Since then the government has not held any enumeration to ascertain the exact number of such workers, Pathak said.
But as per SKA's estimates, there were roughly about 13 lakh manual scavengers in the country. As per statistics, 33 per cent of the country's total population use dry latrines and another 33 per cent do not have any toilets in their houses leaving them to defecate in the open spaces.
Despite being made punishable under Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act 1993 and allocation of funds to rehabilitate the workers, the practice of manual scavenging continues, Bezwada Wilson of Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) said.
"The disgraceful practice of one human being removing another person's excreta happens at a time when India aspires to become an economic super power," Wilson rued.
Echoing his view, Dr Bindeswar Pathak of Sulabh International alleged that the complacency of the Centre and state governments has made the practice of manual scavenging perpetuate.
According to Planning Commission statistics of 1989, there were around six lakh scavengers engaged in the tasks of removing and transporting night soil. Since then the government has not held any enumeration to ascertain the exact number of such workers, Pathak said.
But as per SKA's estimates, there were roughly about 13 lakh manual scavengers in the country. As per statistics, 33 per cent of the country's total population use dry latrines and another 33 per cent do not have any toilets in their houses leaving them to defecate in the open spaces.
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