Sanitation Workers: unsung heroes
“The world is full of unsung heroes who quietly change lives with their action.”
Sanitation workers came from that section of marginalized society, whose work plays an important role but often they are neglected and unrecognized. These frontline helpers are responsible for cleaning and maintaining every step of sanitation.
In India, mostly sanitation workers belong from Dalit community and due to their cleaning praxis they are regarded polluted. Development never reaches to them. As per as WASH, India has approximately 5 million sanitation workers. India’s sanitation industry consists of organized and unorganized sector.
Organized Sector
Organized or formal sector are Municipality Corporations, formal sector safeguards certain rights like job security. But if we look through gender perspectives, whole picture looks different. Usually men get permanent job on the other hand women sanitation workers end up renewing their contract based job. With the advent of technology, terror of middlemen is eradicated as they receive their earrings are directly deposited in the bank.
While researching about the plight of sanitation workers, I interviewed 36 years old woman worker Kanta ben and theses are her words.
“Most of men workers get permanent jobs. I often face abuse and harassment, many times drunken men verbally abuse us. I have to collect garbage without masks and gloves.”
The law mandates Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to every sanitation worker (which includes gloves, mask and goggles). Kanta ben further stated that her life as a Dalit worker is not easy, social exclusion and discrimination is quite frequent.
Unorganized Sector
Unorganized sector is more gruesome and it accounts approximately 70-80 % of manual scavengers. Municipal Corporation has developed special tanker for minimizing direct human contact with septic waste. However, tankers cannot pass through narrow streets and so manual scavenging; an inhuman practice is still prevalent. Inaccurate and unplanned urbanization and inefficient waste management forces these people to expose themselves in harmful substances & gas of hellhole for wages that is unable to sustain their lives basic necessities.
Importance of Sanitation Workers
Every country’s primary goal is to achieve overall development in terms of economical, social and environmental. For attaining these objectives economics need GDP growth and it is crucial that society is free from chaos, war, epidemics and so on. For our internal and external securities we have brave heroes sacrificing their lives. There are many unsung heroes contributing for uplifting of society. But the work of sanitation workers is difficult as everyday they are challenging death in order to safeguard our future.
According to the WASH estimation 1.4 million people die each year due to poor sanitation and majority of deaths happens in low and middle income countries.
As per as economics researcher’s viewpoint our society will come under the clouds of stagnation without proper hygiene facilities as unsafe sanitation accounts 5,64,000 of deaths mostly due to diseases like diarrhea a leading contributor of malnutrition. Today’s child is tomorrow’s future; if the human resource is malnourished then it will affect its overall development. Poor health is connected with poor sanitation that will tend to decline in productivity of which further lead to downward trend of GDP. Contamination promotes hindrances of RTE (Right to Education).
By exposing their bare skin, they help mother Earth to heal. Sanitation workers contribution during the global pandemic of COVID 19 cannot be ignored. However, as per as research by Water Aid for India, found that none of the hospital sanitation workers had all the PPE to perform their job.
Key Challenges
Sanitation workers often observe social, economical and health issues. Average life expectancy of these unsung heroes is less than 50 years. This work is related with high rate of mortality. A recent case of Kerala’s missing sanitation worker whose body was found after 48 hours in a decomposed state. On an average 375-475 people died due to asphyxiation while cleaning sewers. During the month of May 2024, two people lost their life in suffocation while cleaning septic tank in Delhi and list goes on.
Garbage exposure without any PPE, affects the health of sanitation workers as a pile of trash contains harmful chemicals and gases, fueling the spread of cholera, vector-borne diseases. If they do not clean this trash, no one mitigate theses sickness and so they became our shield us. This reminds me about a commercial of lifebuoy soap, indeed sanitation workers are our lifesavers.
Their plight does not end here, they observe several social discrimination. People are hostile even towards their sight and touch as they are regarded disgrace. They are labeled as “Bhangi”. Cleaning septic tanks are like “Chakravyu” once you enter you cannot come out as it is not accepted if they provide any other services. Such behavior affects their mental well-beings; they end up experiencing depression, shame and lower level of self esteem.
Legal Provisions
Legal amendments are incorporated to mobilize the rights of individuals. In 1993, the act was passed for prohibition of Manual Scavenging and construction of Dry Latrines. In addition to this, prohibition of employment of manual scavengers and rehabilitation act was introduced to attain the milestone of social change by skill training program.
Supreme Court ruled out a provision to provide Rs 10 lakhs as compensation to those families who lose their life in sewage work since the implementation of act of 1993. National Action for Mechanized Sanitation ecosystem (NAMSTE), an initiative of ensuring mechanization of sanitation work. The union budget 2023-24 has allocated Rs.100 crore for the scheme. Rashtriya GarimaAbhiyan aims to ensure the dignity of manual Scavengers by eradicating his practice
We all are aware about Swatchchh Bharat Abhiyan campaign initiated by Government of India on 2nd October 2014 to eliminate improvement of solid waste management. The objective of the first phrase is to eliminate the practice of manual scavenging by capacity building. To bring change in behavior patterns, Prime Minster Shri Narendra Modi ji washed the feet of five sanitary workers. But one man’s action cannot change the attitude we need collective efforts.
Mission Garima, another triumph for saving humanity by TATA trusts and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations (BMC). In 2014 it was initiated to promote PPE, free Medical Services and public awareness about waste management. #TwoBinsLifeWins.
What we can do
If we look through economic viewpoint, human resource is most productive resource because we have brain that helps us to maximize our utility and as young individuals, it is our right to bring positive change. So with the help of social media and effective planning we can advocate for the dignity of sanitary workers. The ineffectiveness of above mentioned schemes is slightly connected with low self esteem of marginalized community so we need to alter this behavior. We can throw light on those dark and hopeless streets and guide government by interacting with both parties to promote fair stakeholder policy framing.
Rehabilitation of sanitation workers involves skill development because that how we can change their way of earning money which is fair in terms of both wages and human dignity. Apart from these macro steps, we can do little acts of gratitude by not discriminating their touch and also by disposing wet and dry waste in separate bins.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said,
“The work of sanitation is more difficult than all other form of service, as it is regarded as the meanest of task. There is a feeling of disgust attached to it. Very few persons are prepared to do this work.”
By: Khushi Joshi
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