No Human Should Enter a Sewer
The Issue
A Petition for Dignity, Safety, and Respect for Every Safai Mitra
By Shining Earth Foundation
Dear Friends,
Have you ever wondered who cleans the drains after heavy rain? Who removes the waste that keeps our neighbourhoods safe from diseases? Who makes sure our cities continue to function every single day?
Most of us never think about it.
Before the sun rises, thousands of sanitation workers leave their homes and step into one of the most dangerous jobs in our country. Many of them are still asked to enter toxic sewers and drains filled with poisonous gases, sewage, and waste—often without proper safety equipment.
For them, going to work can mean risking their lives.
What hurts even more is the way society looks at them. We casually call them "kachre wale," forgetting that they are the people who protect our health and keep our surroundings clean.
They are not "garbage people."
They are Safai Mitras—our partners in cleanliness, public health, and human dignity.
The saddest part is that this is not a problem without a solution. Machines that can clean sewers already exist, and India has had a law since 2013 prohibiting hazardous manual scavenging. Yet people continue to lose their lives doing this work. According to information shared by the Government of India in Parliament, 377 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks between 2019 and 2023.
Behind every number is a family that lost a father, a mother, a son, or a brother.
A child waiting for a parent who never comes home.
Parents losing the person who supported the entire family.
No clean street is worth a human life.
We believe that a developed India is not only about better roads, bigger buildings, or smarter cities. It is also about how we treat the people who quietly serve us every day.
Through this petition, Shining Earth Foundation calls upon the Government of India, State Governments, Municipal Corporations, private contractors, and every citizen to take immediate action.
We Demand
1. No human should be forced to enter a sewer or drain for cleaning. Modern machines and technology must become the standard across the country.
2. Every Safai Mitra must receive proper safety equipment, health insurance, fair wages, and social security.
3. Existing laws against hazardous manual sewer cleaning must be strictly implemented, and anyone violating them must be held accountable.
4. Families of workers who lose their lives while cleaning sewers must receive timely compensation and long-term support.
5. As a society, we must stop using disrespectful terms like "kachre wale" and proudly address them as "Safai Mitras" or "Sanitation Workers."
This petition is not against anyone.
It is for the father who wants to return home safely.
It is for the mother who should not have to worry whether her son will survive another day at work.
It is for every sanitation worker who deserves the same respect as a doctor, teacher, engineer, or police officer.
A clean India should never be built on unsafe and undignified work.
Let's choose machines over human lives.
Let's choose respect over prejudice.
Let's choose dignity over silence.
Sign this petition. Share it with your family and friends. Together, we can build an India where no one has to enter a sewer to earn a living and every Safai Mitra returns home safely.
Because no job should cost a life.
— Shining Earth Foundation
28
The Issue
A Petition for Dignity, Safety, and Respect for Every Safai Mitra
By Shining Earth Foundation
Dear Friends,
Have you ever wondered who cleans the drains after heavy rain? Who removes the waste that keeps our neighbourhoods safe from diseases? Who makes sure our cities continue to function every single day?
Most of us never think about it.
Before the sun rises, thousands of sanitation workers leave their homes and step into one of the most dangerous jobs in our country. Many of them are still asked to enter toxic sewers and drains filled with poisonous gases, sewage, and waste—often without proper safety equipment.
For them, going to work can mean risking their lives.
What hurts even more is the way society looks at them. We casually call them "kachre wale," forgetting that they are the people who protect our health and keep our surroundings clean.
They are not "garbage people."
They are Safai Mitras—our partners in cleanliness, public health, and human dignity.
The saddest part is that this is not a problem without a solution. Machines that can clean sewers already exist, and India has had a law since 2013 prohibiting hazardous manual scavenging. Yet people continue to lose their lives doing this work. According to information shared by the Government of India in Parliament, 377 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks between 2019 and 2023.
Behind every number is a family that lost a father, a mother, a son, or a brother.
A child waiting for a parent who never comes home.
Parents losing the person who supported the entire family.
No clean street is worth a human life.
We believe that a developed India is not only about better roads, bigger buildings, or smarter cities. It is also about how we treat the people who quietly serve us every day.
Through this petition, Shining Earth Foundation calls upon the Government of India, State Governments, Municipal Corporations, private contractors, and every citizen to take immediate action.
We Demand
1. No human should be forced to enter a sewer or drain for cleaning. Modern machines and technology must become the standard across the country.
2. Every Safai Mitra must receive proper safety equipment, health insurance, fair wages, and social security.
3. Existing laws against hazardous manual sewer cleaning must be strictly implemented, and anyone violating them must be held accountable.
4. Families of workers who lose their lives while cleaning sewers must receive timely compensation and long-term support.
5. As a society, we must stop using disrespectful terms like "kachre wale" and proudly address them as "Safai Mitras" or "Sanitation Workers."
This petition is not against anyone.
It is for the father who wants to return home safely.
It is for the mother who should not have to worry whether her son will survive another day at work.
It is for every sanitation worker who deserves the same respect as a doctor, teacher, engineer, or police officer.
A clean India should never be built on unsafe and undignified work.
Let's choose machines over human lives.
Let's choose respect over prejudice.
Let's choose dignity over silence.
Sign this petition. Share it with your family and friends. Together, we can build an India where no one has to enter a sewer to earn a living and every Safai Mitra returns home safely.
Because no job should cost a life.
— Shining Earth Foundation
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Petition created on 21 June 2026