Four-Fold Increase In The Number Of Manual Scavengers In The Country, Reveals Govt Data
The task force has counted up to 53,236 people involved in manual scavenging in India.
There is a four-fold rise in the number of manual scavengers in the country compared to the figures accounted in 2017, according to an Inter-Ministerial task force. Among the states, Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 28,796 manual scavengers.
The task force has counted up to 53,236 people involved in manual scavenging in India, The Indian Express reported. This data does not include those involved in cleaning sewers and septic tanks, and data from the Railways, which is the largest employer of manual scavengers. Urban India has also not been included.
The survey was supposed to be conducted in 170 districts of 18 states where the maximum number of “insanitary latrines” were demolished and converted into “sanitary latrines”.
The task force is expected to submit its final tally on the National Survey of Manual Scavengers by the end of this month. However, only 121 districts in 12 states have been covered — Bihar, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana and West Bengal are yet to submit their data, the report said.
“Of the 12 states that cooperated with us for the survey, there was reluctance when it came to verifying the numbers identified by us,” a task force member told Express.
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, which had earlier reported zero or about 100, have now upped their count.