530 districts reported as free of manual scavenging: Centre
1 year, 8 months ago

530 districts reported as free of manual scavenging: Centre

The Hindu  

Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand are among the States and Union Territories that have the highest number of districts yet to declare themselves as manual scavenging free, according to data submitted by the Social Justice Ministry in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The Ministry said that a total of 530 districts across the country had so far reported themselves to be free of manual scavenging with the rest yet to do so. However, Uttar Pradesh, which had the highest number of manual scavengers in two surveys conducted till 2018, has nearly 90% districts reporting that they had been made free of manual scavenging. Top Ministry officials said that each district is being asked to either declare itself as free of manual scavenging or point out locations of insanitary latrines and associated manual scavengers.

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History of this topic

Manual Scavenging Is State Sanctioned Casteism, Stark Reminder Of Deep-Rooted Discrimination: Madras HC Issues Guidelines For Eradication
10 months, 4 weeks ago

Manual Scavenging Is State Sanctioned Casteism, Stark Reminder Of Deep-Rooted Discrimination: Madras HC Issues Guidelines For Eradication

Live Law  

Lamenting over the persistence of manual scavenging in today's day and age, the Madras High Court has issued a slew of guidelines to eradicate manual scavenging and to ensure compliance with the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The court was hearing a plea by Safai Karamchari Andolan seeking to eradicate manual scavenging in the …

In 7 days, over 100 districts report themselves to be manual scavenging-free
1 year, 7 months ago

In 7 days, over 100 districts report themselves to be manual scavenging-free

The Hindu  

More than 100 districts across the country reported themselves to be free of manual scavenging in a period of seven days even as the Union government has said it is vigorously pursuing districts that have not yet done so to complete the procedure. Districts declaring themselves free of manual scavenging are doing so by determining the existence of insanitary latrines …

Government to conduct re-survey to identify manual scavengers across Karnataka
1 year, 7 months ago

Government to conduct re-survey to identify manual scavengers across Karnataka

The Hindu  

The State government will conduct re-survey and identify manual scavengers across the State, in an effort to eradicate the practice completely, said Rakesh Kumar K., Commissioner for the Social Welfare Department. Speaking at a two-day State-level workshop on ‘Strengthening of rehabilitation schemes for identified manual scavengers’, which was jointly organised by the Department of Social Welfare and Center for the …

Social Justice Ministry doubts app’s numbers on cases of manual scavenging
1 year, 7 months ago

Social Justice Ministry doubts app’s numbers on cases of manual scavenging

The Hindu  

Data on the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s mobile app ‘Swachhata Abhiyaan’ identifies 6,253 cases of manual scavenging in the country. A note prepared for the Ministry in the Supreme Court said the mobile app was launched on December 24, 2020 to capture the data of insanitary latrines still existing and manual scavengers associated with them. Uploaded photographs on …

Manual scavenging witnessed in Coimbatore a day after Union Social Justice Ministry said all Tamil Nadu districts free from the practice
1 year, 8 months ago

Manual scavenging witnessed in Coimbatore a day after Union Social Justice Ministry said all Tamil Nadu districts free from the practice

The Hindu  

A day after the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said that 530 out of 766 districts in the country have reported themselves as free of manual scavenging, including all the districts in Tamil Nadu, workers were found engaged in manual scavenging in Coimbatore on Thursday. “It was painful to see the man standing inside the clogged manhole and clearing …

246 districts yet to declare themselves free of manual scavenging
1 year, 8 months ago

246 districts yet to declare themselves free of manual scavenging

Firstpost  

According to data shared in the eighth meeting of the central monitoring committee, out of 766 districts, as many as 520 districts have declared themselves manual scavenging free, while 246 districts are yet to submit the report. About 246 districts in the country have yet to declare themselves free of manual scavenging even as the government’s deadline for declaring India …

Problem of manual scavenging eliminated, claims Union Social Justice Ministry panel
1 year, 8 months ago

Problem of manual scavenging eliminated, claims Union Social Justice Ministry panel

The Hindu  

Despite noting that just 520 districts across the country had declared themselves free of manual scavenging, the Central Monitoring Committee of the Social Justice Ministry concluded in its eighth meeting on July 5, 2023 that all unsanitary latrines had been made sanitary under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and that the problem of manual scavenging is eliminated. A month ago, the …

Only 66% districts in country free of manual scavenging: Social Justice Ministry report
1 year, 9 months ago

Only 66% districts in country free of manual scavenging: Social Justice Ministry report

The Hindu  

Despite stating over the last few years that manual scavenging had been eliminated in the country, and that the only remaining threat was hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has now said that only 508 districts out of the total 766 districts in the country have declared themselves manual-scavenging free. The …

India’s Anti-Manual Scavenging Drive is Faltering, Needs Immediate Intervention
2 years, 4 months ago

India’s Anti-Manual Scavenging Drive is Faltering, Needs Immediate Intervention

News 18  

Social ostracism and lack of opportunities have forced generations of lower caste families to continue indulging in manual scavenging as their daily job. Not often discussed in mainstream media, however, is that over 95 percent of India’s 1.3 million manual scavengers are women. Most manual scavengers belong to the Dalit community, and it is fairly evident that manual scavenging is …

‘We need both: Gandhi and Ambedkar’, says Bezwada Wilson, who crusades against manual scavenging
2 years, 5 months ago

‘We need both: Gandhi and Ambedkar’, says Bezwada Wilson, who crusades against manual scavenging

The Hindu  

Bezwada Wilson, 56, born in Kolar to manual scavenger parents, has dedicated his life to the cause of eradicating the demeaning practice in India. In this interview, the Ramon Magsaysay awardee talks about caste, patriarchy and manual scavenging, elaborating his relationship to both Gandhi and Ambedkar. Building toilets without supplying sufficient water or proper drainage, converting manual scavenging into ‘sanitation …

Centre to Lok Sabha: No deaths reported due to manual scavenging
2 years, 7 months ago

Centre to Lok Sabha: No deaths reported due to manual scavenging

Hindustan Times  

No deaths have been reported due to manual scavenging and there are no reports of people engaged in manual scavenging in the country, the Centre informed Lok Sabha on Tuesday. “There is no report of people currently engaged in manual scavenging as defined under Section 2 of the “Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 ”. …

Manual scavenging continues in different forms in Adilabad
2 years, 11 months ago

Manual scavenging continues in different forms in Adilabad

Deccan Chronicle  

ADILABAD: The banned manual scavenging is continuing in the municipalities in the erstwhile Adilabad district despite the governmental claims to stop this practice. The sanitation workers may not clean the wet toilets but they clean the drainages into which shit flows in various ways. “In practice, the sanitation workers of the municipality clean the drainages in which the human excreta …

Manual Scavenging: Madras High Court Directs State To Submit Report On Compensation Paid And Rehabilitation Measures Taken In Four Weeks
3 years, 3 months ago

Manual Scavenging: Madras High Court Directs State To Submit Report On Compensation Paid And Rehabilitation Measures Taken In Four Weeks

Live Law  

Today, Madras High Court has directed the state to submit a report detailing i) the quantum of compensation paid to the families of deceased manual scavengers so far, and ii) rehabilitation measures undertaken for the benefit of family members of those manual scavengers. The court was hearing a batch of petitions preferred seeking directions to ensure the eradication of manual …

Karnataka HC tells govt to ensure strict adherence to rules on manual scavenging
3 years, 6 months ago

Karnataka HC tells govt to ensure strict adherence to rules on manual scavenging

Hindustan Times  

Karnataka high court on Monday asked the state government to ensure strict compliance of rules with regard to manual scavenging. A division bench of acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum said that the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 and the rules must be followed in such cases. “The persons …

Karnataka sweeper ends life after being forced to clean sewage: Why manual scavenging persists in 21st Century India
4 years, 1 month ago

Karnataka sweeper ends life after being forced to clean sewage: Why manual scavenging persists in 21st Century India

Firstpost  

While official figures estimate total 774 deaths between 1993 and March 2019, SKA estimates that nearly 2,000 manual scavengers die every year in the sewers, due to exposure to poisonous gases With one legislation outlawing manual scavenging eight years ago and another in the pipeline, one would think that the inhuman practice having its roots in India’s feudal past was …

Manual Scavenging Most Inhuman; Violates Article 21 : Karnataka High Court Issues Directions To Implement Manual Scavengers Act 2013
4 years, 3 months ago

Manual Scavenging Most Inhuman; Violates Article 21 : Karnataka High Court Issues Directions To Implement Manual Scavengers Act 2013

Live Law  

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday issued several directions to the state government to ensure proper implementation of the provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. Accordingly, the bench issued the following directions: *The State Government shall place on record the details about the number of First Information Reports registered for the offences …

Is The Government Really Serious About Plight Of Manual Scavengers?
4 years, 9 months ago

Is The Government Really Serious About Plight Of Manual Scavengers?

Live Law  

In this piece, I am going to talk about the miseries faced by manual scavengers. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines Act, 1993 defines 'manual scavenger' as "a person engaged in or employed for manually carrying human excreta". "manual scavenger" means a person engaged or employed, at the commencement of this Act or at any time …

India's Manual Scavengers Have Been Forgotten In The Covid 19 Narrative
4 years, 10 months ago

India's Manual Scavengers Have Been Forgotten In The Covid 19 Narrative

Live Law  

In India's fight against COVID 19, analysts and healthcare workers have identified groups who might be vulnerable to the infectious disease. More importantly, the practice of Manual Scavenging has been banned in India by promulgation and enactment of the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines Act, 1993 and 2013. While societal pressure is a concern, economic necessity …

Physical agony, mental trauma, death: 4 accounts of what it means to work as a manual scavenger in Tamil Nadu
5 years, 7 months ago

Physical agony, mental trauma, death: 4 accounts of what it means to work as a manual scavenger in Tamil Nadu

Firstpost  

Over the past three years alone, 88 deaths related to manual scavenging have been recorded in India — despite a ban on the practice. The irony was that Manikandan and Thangaraj were two of the three ‘identified’ manual scavengers in the area. After working as a manual scavenger under the Vyasarpadi Slum Clearance Board for eight years, Mani has a …

Feet of clay
6 years ago

Feet of clay

The Hindu  

The theatrics of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi washing the feet of sanitation workers in Prayagraj notwithstanding, the report card of the Bharatiya Janata Party government has been dismal with regard to manual scavengers. “The toiletisation taking place under Modi’s flagship scheme of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is indirectly promoting manual scavenging,” said Taware, adding, “With every single toilet built under the Abhiyan, …

With Report Of One Manual Scavenger Dying Every Five Days, PIL In SC For FIR In Every Such Death Since 1993 [Read Petition]
6 years, 2 months ago

With Report Of One Manual Scavenger Dying Every Five Days, PIL In SC For FIR In Every Such Death Since 1993 [Read Petition]

Live Law  

With one manual scavenger reportedly dying at work every five days despite India having declared manual scavenging illegal in 1993, the Criminal Justice Society of India has moved the Supreme Court seeking initiation of criminal proceedings for culpable homicide not amounting to murder against officials, agencies, contractors or any other person involved in engaging or employing manual. With one manual …

manual scavenger rehabilitation budget drops
6 years, 3 months ago

manual scavenger rehabilitation budget drops

The Hindu  

While estimates of the number of manual scavengers across the country vary widely, 13,973 manual scavengers have been identified as on December 8, 2018, according to data given by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. image/svg+xml No.of sewer deaths 0 13 26 Highest and lowest numbers Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of identified manual scavengers. of manual scavengers …

Unfortunate that manual scavenging exists after 70 years of independence, says Arvind Kejriwal
6 years, 4 months ago

Unfortunate that manual scavenging exists after 70 years of independence, says Arvind Kejriwal

Hindustan Times  

Terming the existence of manual scavenging “unfortunate”, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal resolved on Tuesday that his government would take all possible measures to eliminate the practice. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal resolved on Tuesday that his government would take all possible measures to eliminate the practice of manual scavenging. “It is unfortunate that even after 70 years of Independence, …

Centre keen to eradicate manual scavenging in time-bound manner, says Thawar Chand Gehlot
6 years, 5 months ago

Centre keen to eradicate manual scavenging in time-bound manner, says Thawar Chand Gehlot

Firstpost  

Gehlot asked states to revisit their survey by using the wider definition of manual scavenging as given in the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, New Delhi: Union Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot on Thursday said the Centre was keen on eradicating manual scavenging in a time-bound manner, urging states to implement the relevant law …

Manual scavenging in India doesn't need denial and politicised narrative on solutions, but sanitation policy reforms
6 years, 5 months ago

Manual scavenging in India doesn't need denial and politicised narrative on solutions, but sanitation policy reforms

Firstpost  

Despite a law stressing not only eradication of manual scavenging but also rehabilitation of families dependent on the job, septic tanks have turned into death beds for many young men in India. As per the 2011 Socio-Economic and Case Census, 1,82,505 rural households in India were dependent on manual scavenging for income, and just last month, five young men fell …

Why hasn't there been a single conviction in manual scavenging cases?
7 years, 2 months ago

Why hasn't there been a single conviction in manual scavenging cases?

Deccan Chronicle  

The deaths of workers forced to clean human excreta in manholes, sewage treatment tanks or septic tanks cannot be termed an accident as it amounts to murder. Three workers, Maddhe Gowda, Narayana Swami and Srinivas paid with their lives owing to the abhorrent, inhuman and illegal practice of manual scavenging on January 7 this year in an apartment complex in …

Manual scavenging is a contravention of human rights: Madras High Court
7 years, 8 months ago

Manual scavenging is a contravention of human rights: Madras High Court

Firstpost  

manual scavenging was prima facie a contravention of human rights and the right to live with dignity as per the Constitution, the Madras High Court today directed the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government Holding that manual scavenging was prima facie a contravention of human rights and the right to live with dignity as per the Constitution, the Madras High …

Manual scavenging: an indelible blot on urban life
8 years ago

Manual scavenging: an indelible blot on urban life

The Hindu  

As the scorching heat of the first month of summer baked the grubby streets of Cuddalore on March 20, three young men — two below 30 years and one in mid-30s — were called to clear a block in a manhole near Mohini Bridge in Thirupadiripuliyar. Protesters also called for strict implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers …

India’s Female Scavengers Enslaved by Caste, Gender Discrimination
9 years ago

India’s Female Scavengers Enslaved by Caste, Gender Discrimination

The Quint  

India, which banned caste-based discrimination in 1955, has passed several laws to end manual scavenging with government pledges to modernise sanitation and criminalise those who employ manual scavengers. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a “Clean India Mission” to improve sanitation in the fast-growing economy and increase funding for public toilets to end open defecation. The campaign has helped …

Manual scavenging continues in Madurai
9 years, 5 months ago

Manual scavenging continues in Madurai

The Hindu  

The death of two conservancy workers owing to asphyxiation on Wednesday when they were cleaning an underground drainage at HMS Colony here has exposed the lack of safety measures in place for them and ignorance of the ban on manual scavenging. “Manual scavenging is something that is rooted deep in society as many are still engaged in it,” Mr. Rajan …

Manual scavenging still a reality
9 years, 8 months ago

Manual scavenging still a reality

The Hindu  

The practice of manual scavenging, officially banned since decades in India, continues with impunity in several States. Maharashtra, with 63,713, tops the list with the largest number of manual scavenger households, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Karnataka, as per Census data. Bindeshwar Pathak, founder, Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, told The Hindu that when compared to the …

Govt to bring new law to stop manual scavenging
12 years, 11 months ago

Govt to bring new law to stop manual scavenging

Hindustan Times  

Prodded by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council, the UPA government is set to bring a new, stricter law in the monsoon session of Parliament to eradicate manual scavenging. The Centre's move comes after the latest census figures shows that in at least 0.3% of India's 247 million households- 7.4 lakh households-manual scavengers are still engaged. HT Image "Apart from …

Manual scavenging and a case for human dignity
19 years, 9 months ago

Manual scavenging and a case for human dignity

The Hindu  

The Supreme Court’s intervention raises the hopes of lakhs of Dalit families seeking enforcement of the Act designed to eradicate manual scavenging and rehabilitation of people doing the work. In appearance, the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines Act, 1993, had everything to put the government’s effort in a favourable light. They urged the Supreme Court to …

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