MANUAL SCAVENGING? HERE'S PROOF - Ban only on paper as men continue to clean sewers
Daniel George
Chennai
It has been nearly four months since the Tamil Nadu government notified a ban on manual scavenging in the state but the abhorrent practice continues unabated both because of the authorities' apathy and the abject poverty of those involved in the work.
On Saturday , TOI met two workers engaged by the Chennai Corporation to clean a storm water drain near the Reserve Bank of India office in Parry's that was clogged by sewage mixed with rainwater and slush after heavy overnight showers.
Their bodies covered in sewage, the two were taking a break when this reporter caught up. One of them, V Loganathan of Kallakurichi town in Villupuram district, said he was not aware of any ban. “This is my livelihood. If I work I get `700 a day . It is tough and a dirty job but someone has to do it,“ he said.
He agreed it was risky but said he had to do it to support his family back home.
Kolkata native Ali Hassan, who helps Loganathan in cleaning septic tanks and storm water drains, said he initially found it tough going down the drain. “Now I am used to it.“
Badgered by activists, the Tamil Nadu government had issued a notification almost four months ago. “The Governor of Tamil Nadu hereby notifies the 15th day of March, 2015 as the date from which no person, local authority or any agency shall, engage or employ , either directly or indirectly , any person for hazardous cleaning of a sewer or a septic tank,“ said the notification. It was issued under Section 7 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, which enjoins state governments to notify a date from which no person shall be employed for manual scavenging.
The situation on the ground is, however, different with government agencies themselves engaging workers for such work. Change India director A Narayanan, who has been fighting to ban the practice for long, said, “There has to be a concerted effort on part of Chennai Corporation, Metrowater and other agencies in eradicating manual scavenging.“
He said the courts have asked the government to give a road map on how it is going to mechanise the process.“The corporation has been asked to submit a detailed report on mechanisation and methods to prevent sewage mixing in storm water drains.“ He said the new law also includes a provision for monetary assistance and rehabilitation of erstwhile manual scavengers and their dependents.
