Status of manual scavengers in Gorakhpur, Uttar-Pradesh
Vidya Bhushan Rawat
The Condition of
Scavenger community in India is a matter of grave concern for all the right
thinking persons world over. It is regrettably noted that the official
attitude of the government has not changed towards these communities. The
surroundings of the community compel them think in a ghettoized fashion
which is considered as if the community does not want to change. In an
environment where parents do not know where would the second day meal be
achieved, it would be ridiculous to think that the community would be able
to rise at its own. Is it not the duty of all of us who believe in human
rights, dignity and human values to come forward and help the community to
delink from its traditional occupation?
We are shocked to say the least that despite the people’s will to get out of
the profession, nothing much is visual from the government’s attitude for
whom rehabilitation means nothing except putting people into the
municipality cleaning the sewage system with out any proper hand gear. The
overall atmosphere around their locality is never congenial to develop a
healthy and vibrant society. The majority of those who work in the
scavenging profession particularly carrying night soil over-head are women.
Over the years, when men got jobs in municipalities, the numbers of women
who are involved in manual scavenging remain unchanged and a matter of grave
concern. A survey was conducted by Jan Kalyan Sansthan, Chauri Chaura,
partner organization of Social Development Foundation, Delhi under the
guidance of Shri Ram Bhuvan. Mrs M Sultana of Sainik Mahila Prakshishan
Sansthan, Gorakhpur provided local support to reach the community.
We had found out details of nearly 117 scavenger families in Basantpur,
Turkmanpur, Laldiggi, Muftipur, Bhediyagarh areas of Gorakhpur town. Out of
this, our team was able to get full details of the conditions of the
community in Basantpur and Turkmanpur covering around 58 families. The total
number of people in these families is 369, which include children and aged
people as well. The data reveal some disturbing trend and need to be
addressed at the earliest. Do people really know about the nature of
isolation the community living along with us. Scavenger community has all
along been living in the urban areas serving the middle classes, upper
elites, feudal lords, Hindus and Muslims every one alike, yet none of them
ever bothered whether they have cared and bothered about those who clean
their shit, enter deep into the sewage pit to continue the sewage line. In
the coming days, we are going to cover a large part of Uttar-Pradesh and
bring reports on this aspect.
Housing and other conditions:
The social
ostracisation of the scavenger community remains complete and virtually no
efforts have been made to eradicate the practice of scavenging. But is it
possible to without addressing the basic issues of their livelihood. Even
when the community was involved in one of the most atrocious job the world
could ever have, just 5% of them lived in the government houses. 12% of them
are informally living in occupied land but 83% of them were living in
depressingly miserable conditions and half completed huts on the government
land.
The basic amenities in this area remain a matter of shame for every one of
us who claim to be civilized. Those clean shits of other people remain
toilet less and have no place to even defecate. What could be a great
paradox than the fact that 88% of the families do not have basic toilet
facilities? 10% have personal toilets. 2% of them have toilets, which they
themselves feel are not worthy to use. One can assume how difficult it would
be for those 10% who claim to have toilets.
There is virtually no arrangement of electricity in the specific areas where
the community live. Just 24% of the families use light and that too with the
illegal connection termed as Katiya. 76% of the families still live in
uncertain darkness. If the situation persists like this how can the children
grow? To add their woes 71% of the people get water from the communal taps.
Only 26% of the people have personal water taps and 3% do not even access to
water. The atmosphere is filthy to be described here as pigs roam around in
dirt and children ‘shit’ in open. In such a sickening environment, how can
one expect the children would get education for life?
Education: Total number of men women was 29% each while 42% of them are
children, which falls under (0-15) years of age. In case of education and
its gender wise break up 27% of the children were literate while 31% female
and 42% males were literate. 76% of the total community people are
illiterate. This has resulted in virtual isolation of community from the
rest of the society and in continuous grip of superstition and backwardness.
The children continue to suffer as parents found little time to spend with
them and their caste and geographical isolation let to further
marginalisation in the schools. Teachers would not be interested to roll
them in and all them sit with other students. Though, these things may not
be visible when a team visit from outside as teachers, students, staff every
one has become alert about punitive action. Even the students know this
factor and avoid painting the real picture. The fact of the matter is even
when publicly untouchability has been eliminated yet caste system is very
much prevalent and no body would deny it. The other fact is that every body
knows about Dom, Mehtar, Bhangis and Helas and such terms, denigrating they
may look for a civilized society yet continue in practice. Children,
inherit, these terms from their parents and in turn these communities face
racial prejudices from every one. It is therefore, not ironical that names
of their localities seal their fate as areas are always mentioned with the
community names hence names like Harijan Bustee or Domkhana. They remind us
how crude our system was vis-à-vis the untouchables. The very foundation of
the discrimination in India is caste system, which denigrate Dalits and hurt
the very dignity and pride of an individual, which are essentials for his
growth and development. The governance has not really got itself rid of the
caste system though it may claim to have demolished the untouchability at
least on the papers. Therefore, it is essential for the government to make
its plan in a comprehensive way and not respond to a situation on purely
technical way.
Education is basic foundation and still the untouchable children do not get
the attention of the state. It would have been better to start community
schools for isolated and marginalized community like Scavengers, Mushahars
and others. In the primary schools, there is a clear untouchability since
the children are not aware of their rights and their parents do not know
about the school. In the Lal Diggi Harijan Bustee (domkhana), there was a
school where children used to get free education but for the last 10 years
it does not function. There was a teacher working here but after her
retirement no other teacher has been appointed in place of her.
Women and Children: The condition of scavenging community is miserable.
Since most of the people from the community are uneducated. Social evils are
prevalent in the community. Poverty gives birth to different things
including alcoholism, wife beating, gambling. Most of the children cannot go
to school. The girl children become part of the profession. 20% of the
children below 15 years of age do scavenging work while 10% are involved in
it. Following the growing trend of feminization of scavenging, results show
a whopping 70% of women involved in most inhuman work. While children below
4 years of age are 36% in the two areas and do not have anything to study.
43% of them do nothing. 15% of the children go to school. 3% of them clean
and mop the street and 3% of them are involved in manual scavenging. It is a
shocking detail that hurt and put us to shame as even the children are not
safe and cannot go to school.
Profession: When circumstances remain the same, therefore it is but natural
that 42% of the families are still in the sanitation work. Tragically,
despite this 44% of the people are still unemployed which is a matter of
grave concern. Nearly 9% of the families are still scavenging while 4% have
retired. It also reflects that there is virtually no entry of this community
in the government sector as well as other labour work. It clearly means that
while in the sanitation work of the municipalities there is a one hundred
percent reservation for them, there is virtually no effort to delink them
from this tradition and rehabilitate them elsewhere. And by merely
proclaiming that government has banned toilets will not bring out of the
chaos that the social system has inflicted upon them. One is that there is
still scavenging and other grave fact is that absentee Safai Karmcharis is
growing. That means because of relatively better salaries and contract
system, those with connections in the higher ups get the job while the issue
of cleaning and going down the drainage and sewage line. How can situation
improve if the community is living in complete social ostracisation and
isolation? The students do not get a congenial atmosphere to study their
books. In the school, the teacher, would obviously, not like to be
supportive. Normal reference for delays and late coming is ‘ these people
are like that. They do not want to study’.
In-spite of the fact that this is most ill-treated and inhuman work that any
human could do, the women continue to do it because of financial crisis. We
all know that this does not really fetch them any money. The tragedy is that
even the schemes for poor do not reach them. Despite having no land to live
and cultivate, 69% of the community people in these areas have no ration
card. The rest 31% have APL Ration Card.
Health: 95% of the people drink alcohol and a majority of them (60%) drink
country liquor. So far we have got information of more than 8 people have
died and about 16 are ill. 6 persons have been paralysed and 2 are disabled.
70% of the people do not have balance diet. Most of the children are
malnutrition and anemic. There seems to be no Anganwadi workers working with
them. The fact is that even the Anganwadi workers have their caste and who
would like to visit the dirt and filth unless some one has extremely noble
ideas and commitment to do the work.
Financial Conditions: All above indicators gives indication of extreme
poverty in the community. Despite poverty, male members continue to depend
heavily on liquor and social taboos such as dowry has resulted in growing
financial crisis in the community. They depend on local individual
moneylenders who charge hefty interest rates for every loan he pay to them.
Our survey shows that just 26% of the families were able to save some amount
of money. But a majority 76% was sinking in heavy debt. The debt is rarely
reduced. It always increases and every time the person gets a salary for
whatever work, he/she has to repay the debt.
What is the alternative?
1. Develop new
localities with amenities like sanitation and water for the community.
2. Start special schools for the children of scavenger community.
3. Provide training programmes like electrician, vehicle repair, driving,
beautician, and sewing centers for the youths of the community.
4. Give full scholarship to bright students of the community and provide
them training for computer education.
5. Involve the Civil Society Organisations in the development and inclusion
of the community in the mainstream.
6. Municipal corporations should be penalized if scavenging is prevalent in
the area.
7. Provide better pay package to safai Karmcharis so that they can fetch
their children well. At the moment, their conditions really need an
emergency response.
8. There are no social benefits for the children of Safai Karmcharis. Most
of them are lowly paid and working on contract which means any ailments not
only increase their debt as salaries are deducted with out any other medical
compensation as any other employee may claim. This has resulted in their
further marginalisation.
9. With growing pressure, the entire scavenging work is now feminized with
more and more women taking up the profession while their men working with
the municipalities. With shrinking jobs in the municipality, the government
as well as the municipalities have not been able to provide any social
security to the community, it is high time, a special monitoring body is
constituted which not only monitor violation of human rights and provide
immediate relief to the victims rather then waiting for long official
process which is proving to be disastrous.
Conclusion: Gorakhpur burnt because of the communal violence. Political
leaders played their role. The city witnessed deaths due to brain fever,
which reoccur every year and kills young children. This is the district
where we have seen starvation deaths. The city is one of the major
commercial city of eastern Uttar-Pradesh. It is developing. It has one of
the most revered shrine of Guru Gorakhnath, whose head is a Swami forming
Hindu Yuva Vahini to protect Hindus from Muslims. Muslims have other work.
Nobody has time to think of a community which has kept the city clean at its
own peril. Can we expect serious response from the government to consider
the case of the scavenger community when they want to get out of it? Let us
fight against this inhuman practice of scavenging, which kills human
dignity.
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