The Wretched of the Earth? : Vivek Kumar

With the monsoons taking over Mumbai in the last couple of months, spilled manholes and clogged drains have become a regular feature in the city. Despite repeated warnings, people ‘employed’ in this ‘sector’ work in inhuman conditions.

People who clean our garbage with their own hands sans any tool or equipment. We see them everywhere and every day. We close our nose and our hearts when we pass by them.

It is a pity that such a practice still continues in India.

But isn't there something called Municipal Corporation in every city? One may ask. Yes, there is. The task of Municipal Corporation, inter alia, is to clean the city's garbage. It employs people for this task, but does not provide them any tools. They are supposed to use their own hands.

But the government can't be so insensitive. It must be doing something for them? Yes, it is. It passes funds every year to the municipal corporations of every city to improve their work. Unfortunately, the grant received seldom reaches the recipients. It is siphoned off by the officials. So the money allotted to buy new tools and machinery which would help in cleaning the city's garbage more efficiently actually goes in the Swiss accounts of the corporate officials.

So, how do we tackle this menace? One answer is more reforms and concomitant mechanization of cleaning our choked drains. Also, sensitization of the common people towards the scavengers needs to be done.

Vivek is a first year student of the MA in Women's Studies programme at TISS, Mumbai