Respected Sir/Ma'am,

We, the learners of Vega Schools, Steren Trella grade 6, bring to your attention the illegal practice of manual scavenging. This is being done by a lot of the underprivileged population to earn and feed their family. This illegal practice causes a lot of deaths which is why it is banned by the government, but till now many continue to do it. That is why it is illegal to do manual scavenging. 

This petition will inform about manual scavenging and community heroes with the body topics: Who, What, When and Where. This will introduce the proneness of diseases caused by manual scavenging, their jobs and how to stop them. 

Manual scavengers are people who clean sewers and have been threatened as if they aren’t human. They have been assigned to do such work just because they are not educated. If they are given a chance, they can achieve their dreams. Their rights have been snatched from them. They are not even paid enough to do such dangerous things. 

They use their hands for manual scavenging. Apart from their hands, they use basic tools like buckets, brooms, and baskets which most of the time are not in good shape. They clean human waste from streets, septic tanks and gutters; the flooding and clogging of drains and dry toilets make it worse. During this process, they are prone to diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, nausea, typhoid, and many other infections, sometimes even causing deaths. Other than the health problems, they face discrimination based on colour and race as well.

Manual scavenging goes throughout the year, but it is at its peak in the monsoon season. Due to heavy rainfall and a lot of waste on roads, the sewers clog often. People in villages target the weaker sections of the society for this work. The rehab act in 2013 already prohibited manual scavenging. Even after the law was passed, people continued to do this work which caused around 400 deaths. In September 2020, a news agency reported that a session in the Parliament was conducted wherein the government proposed to introduce a new bill that would strengthen the law against manual scavenging. The manual scavengers continue to do this life-threatening work because of lack of occupations, denial of their existence, heredity, lack of employment opportunities, social stigmatization, lack of liberation strategies and many more reasons.

Manual scavenging is thought to be prevalent in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan. Uttar Pradesh recorded half of the deaths due to manual scavenging. You may be wondering why manual scavenging occurs since it is banned in most places. Manual scavenging is the worst surviving symbol of the discrimination against the lower caste, who were quite literally called untouchables at one point in history. A study on this very topic tells us that the people who do manual scavenging are threatened with a lack of resources. Those who attempt to quit manual scavenging are threatened with being banned from the community land, to collect firewood or graze their livestock. “I have to go. If I miss a single day, I am threatened,” said Munnidevi, a manual scavenger from the Kasela village in Uttar Pradesh. Machinery has been invented and marketed to solve this problem, but each item costs 40 lakhs, which is much too expensive.

Manual scavenging is a hazardous job and it causes death. It is illegal but it happens under our noses and thousands of lives are lost in this process. It affects their digestive system and lungs. It affects them mentally by making them feel depressed. Although the physical effects are dangerous, the mental effects stand more prominent. Despite the government’s repeated attempts to end this poor treatment, this act is continuing. Manual scavengers are people too, with families and friends, and we cannot allow them to be treated in such a poor manner. Imagine if it were you in their shoes, would you have liked this?  That is the reason we have made this petition.

We all can contribute, all we have to do is to stand up against this act and eradicate it completely.