A debate over the continuation of manual scavenging is raging in Kerala with Safai Karmachari Andolan (organisation of sanitation workers), a movement to eradicate manual scavenging, saying that the outlawed practice was continuing discreetly in the State, which was denied by a member of the National Commission for Safai Karmacharis .
It was the Supreme Court order last week for eradicating manual scavenging in the country that has triggered a debate on the existence of the outlawed practice. The apex court had also increased the compensation for sewer deaths to ₹30 lakh.
Sundarraj Pappathi, State convener of the organisation, said though men don’t openly carry away faecal materials as done earlier, workers were still engaged in cleaning septic tanks and sewers in the State. Several local bodies in Ernakulam have certified that men were engaged as manual scavengers. Moreover, people are still deployed for manually de-clogging of manholes, he said.
A survey held in Palakkad, Ernakulam, Kollam and Alappuzha districts five years ago had identified 518 such workers. Kerala should carry out a comprehensive survey across the State to identify and rehabilitate the workers, said Mr. Pappathy.
However, P. P. Vava, a member of the National Commission for Safai Karmacharis, said the State was free of the practice, which was once prevalent. No reports of manual scavenging came from the State following a mobile app-based survey carried out by the Suchitwa Mission, he said.
He said the State could not make headway on the introduction of robotic machines for cleaning drains and sewages though the Commission had asked the State authorities to procure them in the local bodies using CSR funds of various agencies, said Mr. Vava.
Bezwada Wilson, the national convenor of the Andolan, said sewer and septic tank deaths were fewer in Kerala when compared to other parts of the country.
The apex court had earlier directed the States to end manual scavenging. The introduction of robotic machines alone cannot address the issue and more technological interventions are required. Those engaged in such operations should be provided adequate safety gear and training, Mr. Wilson suggested.
