Sanitation Workers

Sanitation workers in Mumbai's Colaba sent home without notice or pay; 'how will we survive', ask sweepers, cleaners

Sanitation workers face risks from handling hazardous items in the garbage like syringes, glass shards, and infected or toxic materials. Balkoti's daily wage was Rs 625, the minimum wage stipulated by Maharashtra state.

On BJP's 40th anniversary, PM Modi urges all workers to join the fight against COVID-19

The PM had a list of steps he wanted all workers to take to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Pictures of sanitation workers in Noida cleaning drains without protective gear surface online, authorities say equipment provided to all

Sanitation workers engaged by the Noida Authority have allegedly been found cleaning sewage without safety gear like gloves and boots, in violation of a central law that prohibits manual scavenging in the country.

Monsoon Session of Parliament: D Raja criticises Narendra Modi for silence over deaths of sanitation workers in Gujarat

D Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI) claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not uttered a word on the death of workers cleaning sewers in Gujarat.

India's manual scavengers: Media must be used more effectively to spread awareness; popular faces should use influence for social cause

Efforts of various bodies help spread awareness about manual scavenging, but the stereotype associated with the profession needs even more prominence to inspire outrage and action against the occupation.

Seven, including four sanitation workers, die of suffocation while cleaning septic tank of Vadodara hotel; owner booked for negligence

Seven people, including four sanitation workers, died in Gujarat's Vadodara while cleaning a septic tank on Friday. They are believed to have suffocated to death while cleaning the septic tank outside a hotel in Dabhoi taluk.

India's manual scavengers: Ugly truths of unsanitary sanitation work an open secret, law needs better enforcement

The perils of manual scavenging will stay unaddressed in India till the casteist attitude of washing their feet or trying to fix this problem from an economic perspective alone remain.

Menstrual Hygiene Day: Chennai sanitation workers bear brunt of improperly disposed pads

While menstruation itself continues to be a taboo subject, unhygienic use and disposal of sanitary pads — especially in metropolitan cities like Chennai — is slowly exacting a toll on not only the environment but also human lives.

The Valmiki community's protest against empty political gestures — and an oppressive occupation

For many centuries, the Valmiki community has suffered oppression and been deprived of opportunities because of a caste-ordained occupation — cleaning sewers and human waste

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

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.