Petition demands survey on number of manual scavengers

COIMBATORE: Two years after the Supreme Court ordered all states to abolish manual scavenging and cleaning of sewers, the practice still continues. According to social activists, Tamil Nadu has failed not only to stop manual scavenging, but also to initiate rehabilitation and shifting of existing manual scavengers to other jobs.
The Pollachi wing of Safai Karamchari Andolan petitioned the collectorate on Monday to conduct the survey to assess the number of manual scavengers and take action against officials who are underplaying the numbers.
Head of Safai Karamchand Andolan in Pollachi P Muruganandham wrote to the district collectorate demanding action against officials in the district for not following the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012.
"The bill abolishing manual cleaning of drains and sewers in 2013 also says all states have to create another form of livelihood and jobs for manual scavengers, who still have years of service left," wrote Muruganandham.
"The local bodies were supposed to go door to door and enumerate the number of manual scavengers and issue newspaper advertisements requesting them to come forward. Once they made a list, they were to give them job training in other fields and jobs too," he said.
Activists say that the Coimbatore Corporation and the district administration have not done a full-fledged job that area. "When we did a door to door survey ourselves within corporation limits, we had 700 names, but the civic body told the Madras high court, in an ongoing case filed by Chennai-based activist Padam Narayanan, that it was 140 workers. The village panchayat assistant director and town panchayat assistant director claimed that there were no such workers in the district," said Muruganandham.
"The panchayat officials are either lying or lazy because every other day we see manual scavengers cleaning our sewers," he said.
It is based on this enumeration of manual scavengers, that the state will allocate funds for their rehabilitation.
Activist Padam Narayanan had filed a petition in the Madras high court stating that Tamil Nadu is yet to implement the court order and bill abolishing manual scavenging.