Kuldip Khajuria
Swami Vivekananda once said on Safaikaramchari : “Walk a mile in someone’s shoes before criticizing him or her. Do not think this is due to the pinch of hunger, it is because they do not get any sympathy from us. We are day and night calling out to them. Do not touch us!”
When India is under lockdown , hundred and thousands of these safaikaramcharis are cleaning and clearing up trash, medical waste, human waste, sewerage, most of them with little or without any safety equipments putting their lives on risk, to keep us safe. But present system of making the safaikaramcharis to clear house hold waste and clean area which carry the risk of potential infection of Coronavirus without the Covid-19 protective gear is callous and amounts to violation of their Fundamental right to life. As unlike doctors, who work in the more controlled and sanitized environment, safaikaramchari function in unhygienic conditions and are at higher risk of getting infected with virus, that too with paltry pay which is ten times less than other health workers.
India is home of 5 million sanitation workers and are highly vulnerable to infection. It becomes difficult to understand, why society doesn’t care about the people doing our most essential work? Why they are often overlooked?
” If we do not work, hunger and lack of livelihood will kill us”,- A 32 year old Aamanat, still a contractual safaikaramchari with the city municipality who spends 8 hours a day on the roads and streets of Jammu city narrates: He picks up waste with his bare hands and loads it on the load carrier without gloves, boots, uniform or hand sanitizer. For this work he is paid Rs200 a day. In these six years of his service, Aamanat has worked as Waste collector, he has seen his colleagues develop skin and respiratory ailments. The health threat, however, never loomed as large as it does today as the Corona virus spreads across the country. At least in the extraordinary situations like these, the authorities must give us the basic safety equipments, who has taken to carrying even his own soap to work each day and wearing a mask that he washes each night. Aamanat who not only picks waste material and garbage also help in maintenance of sewers and public toilets with little or no safety equipments, many times exposed to toxic gases which are often risk of chronic disease. A 32 year Aamanat has resolved to take care of himself and his family. After duty Aamanat takes bath as soon as he gets home and washes his clothes. He eats in a dish that is kept separately from his family and cleans it as soon as he is done with his meals. He worries that if he is infected he might transmit the virus to his two children or wife who share- a house that is 40sq ft. My wife worries everyday, but even she knows it is a risk we have to take. The other option is begging for alms. After a pause, he adds, we are lesser humans: we clean and wash entire country. When patients soil their clothes, we often clean them up all for Rs 6000/ a month. Now we are further at risk of disease like Covid-19 when we touch and clean all the waste .Even this meager salary we donot get on time. We face uncertainity by the service providers of the Government. Policies and compensations have only made out for permanent Government employees but nothing specific for contractual workers even when they face greater risk. “Our work contributes to the society” but people do not recognize our contribution. In the society we are marginalized and ignored. Why we are considered as a vulnerable population? Nobody cares for us whether we live or die, because we people belong to the Dalit community- 3000 year old caste system and many of us are in the hands of Government contractors/ NGOs. Scores of them die each year from various critical diseases. With streaming eyes, Aamanat further adds, Many a times I wish I could leave this job but this is what we have been doing for generations and for me it is an inevitable chain to secure my child’s education and well being. If I refuse to work, there are ten others waiting to take my place.
According to data collected by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (the statutory body set up by an Act of Parliament for the welfare of sanitation workers) 2018, one worker dies every five days while cleaning sweres and septic tanks in the country.
So far India has identified 17656 Cases of Covid-19 and 559 deaths. Now these safaikaramcharis are facing more great risk from corona virus as many of them are still working without masks, gloves and other safety measures. Doctors have PPEs- and yet they are contracting infections. How will these workers stay safe? Even then, in spite of the scare, they are performing their jobs in these critical conditions without basic safety equipment.
It is opined that these workers should have first claim on Government schemes, benefits, before anyone else in the field of health sector, keeping in view their hazardous working conditions, so that they donot feel like second class citizens or unprotected and unappreciated.
Ways to resolve
The Government/ local bodies should raise the profile of safaikaramcharis just like we do with all other health workers and pay them their respect, acknowledge their importance as frontline warriors. Because just as the other health workers of the country these safaikaramcharis have also been working in every ward and mohalla to ensure that people remain safe and healthy. It is time for all of us to recognize them. On the other hand the Government should take necessary measures for their well being like to regularize these contractual sanitation workers, promote workers empowerment through Unions/associations for the basic conditions such as regular pay, paid leave, health insurance etc. It should be made compulsory for local bodies to arrange for their medical examinations atleast once in the year. There should be residential schools for their children and provide scholarship to their wards. The Government should undertake comprehensive legislation for regulating their working, service and living conditions. The state and civil societies should come forward to carry out vigorously the anti-drink propaganda in the localities inhabitated by safaikaramcharis and scavangers. Their service provider should provide them uniform and protective clothing etc.
Few days back Government announced an insurance scheme of 50 lakh for the frontline health workers, which include sanitary workers after the outbreak of the Covid-19, but it is not clear if contractual and casual workers would be eligible for its benefit or not. Not to forget that their services have also been recognized by the Prime Minister in a televised address to the nation on March 19. “From Doctor to nurses, hospital staff, police and sanitation workers all have been selflessely serving others without caring about them” said the Prime Minister.
Again after few days when Aamanat met me while going to work, now he is having a different experience these days altogether. He describes : this is the time which makes me feel that how important I am. Sir, I cannot describe, how I felt when people clapped and beat utensils for us on the instance of Prime minister. He said none of his colleagues has taken leave or remained absent even for a day due to the threat of the Corona virus. It is our duty, and we are not going to step back, the poor Aamanat acclaimed!
In this context, it is appropriate to say that Until the society act on the Swadesh mantra of Swami Vivekananda: “forget not that the ignorant, the poor, the cobbler, the sweeper are thy flesh and blood, thy brothers, thy brave one”,till then no sense of satisfaction and stability can prevail in this section of society.
(The author is the devotee of Ramakrishna Mission Jammu and a social activist)
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