One of the dirtiest jobs in the world: sewer cleaner in India
Sher Singh is always out of breath. He can only walk for a short time. He is only about 50 years old, but he doesn't know that for sure. Singh lives in the Indian capital of New Delhi and has been suffering from a lung disease since he climbed into a septic tank about three meters deep to clear a blockage around three years ago. He was in the stuffy pit with three other colleagues, two of whom died there.
"We lost consciousness," says Singh in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Methane gas was later cited as a possible cause. Singh was only wearing shorts during the dangerous mission. He did not have a mask, gloves or any other protective equipment.
It has long been illegal in India to clean sewers without protective equipment. Contractors who nevertheless distribute such cleaning contracts face prison sentences of up to two years in the worst case. So much for the theory.
Life-threatening conditions
In practice, however, things look different. Many men continue to work in the stuffy pits without protective equipment and in life-threatening conditions. How many there actually are and how many die in the process - there is disagreement. According to the authorities, a total of 330 people died cleaning sewers without protective equipment between 2018 and 2022. However, Bezwada Wilson, founder of the organization Safai Karmachari Andolan, which campaigns for an end to manual sewer cleaning in India, believes that the authorities' figures on deaths are far too low. He estimates that thousands die every year. His claims cannot be verified; Wilson merely refers to reports that regularly appear in the newspapers.
According to Wilson, the sewer cleaners usually work for subcontractors, who in turn are commissioned by local authorities to clean the sewers. Preference is given to the cheapest providers. The workers rarely receive protective equipment and their daily wage is just 300 to 400 rupees (3.40 to 4.50 euros). And in the sewers, the cleaners not only encounter dangerous gases, but also insects and snakes.
Occasionally, sewer cleaners and their families protest for better working conditions. Amrik Singh, for example, wipes away his tears with his sleeves on a sultry afternoon in New Delhi. Singh says the toxic fumes killed his 30-year-old son in the sewers. He and a few hundred other relatives of sewer workers who died are holding up photos of the dead, next to posters with messages. Singh's daughter shows a poster whose message puts its finger in the wound: "Average life expectancy for men: 72 years - sewer workers: 32 years."
Typhoid, cholera and tuberculosis
Many sewer cleaners struggle with skin diseases, says Ashok Kumar from the non-governmental organization Dalit Adivasi Shakt Adhikari Manch, which campaigns for the welfare of sewer cleaners and waste collectors in the Indian capital. They often suffered from diseases such as typhoid, cholera and tuberculosis. The bad experiences in the job drive many workers into alcohol addiction, Kumar continues.
Life is hard for the sick former sewer cleaner Sher Singh, who can barely stand. His wife works in a waste separation factory and earns around 9,000 rupees (102 euros) a month. This barely allows the family of six to afford the rent for their small apartment and one meal a day. Singh's 14-year-old son has stopped going to school and instead tries to keep the family afloat with painting work and other odd jobs. Both son and father have tuberculosis. "The families of my deceased colleagues each received one million rupees (more than 11,000 euros). I received nothing," says Singh. The relatives of sewer cleaners killed at work usually receive compensation. "I should have died," says Singh with bitterness.
In the meantime, however, the number of sewer cleaners without protective equipment is decreasing in large Indian cities such as Delhi. Instead, they can use machines that suck out blockages. They only have to get into the sludge if large objects such as a bag of cement get stuck, says Vinod, who, like other people from lower castes, prefers not to use his surname as it reveals his status in society. Vinod works in a comparatively richer area of Delhi - and receives six-month contracts from his subcontractor, earning 14,500 rupees (164 euros) a month.
At the bottom of the caste system
But latrines are not connected to the sewage system everywhere in India. This is the case in some villages in the poorer states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. There, cleaners usually have to continue cleaning the latrines without protective equipment and often only with their hands, says Wilson.
Almost all the people who clean sewers or latrines with or without protective equipment are so-called Dalits, who used to be called "untouchables" and who are at the lower end of the Hindu caste system. They are among the poorest people in the country and take on jobs that no one else wants to do. At the same time, they and their children experience discrimination from people of higher castes - for example, by not being allowed to enter their homes or eat with the same dishes.
At the protest in Delhi, cleaning lady Mamta Chawariya asks: "Why do our children have to do these jobs? Why not yours?" They wanted secure jobs.
But perhaps there is hope for the sewer cleaners. The country's highest court recently called on the authorities to take precautions to stop cleaning sewers without protective equipment.
Despite the legal prohibition, many sewer cleaners continue to work in life-threatening conditions without protective equipment, often due to the preference for cheap labor and inadequate wages. This prolonged exposure to dangerous gases, insects, snakes, and diseases like typhoid, cholera, and tuberculosis often leads to poverty and alcohol addiction for these workers and their families.
The poor living conditions and lack of job security for sewer cleaners, many of whom are Dalits, highlight the persistent discrimination and social inequality in Indian society, with these individuals often relegated to the bottom of the caste system and forced to undertake the most hazardous jobs.
Source: www.dpa.com
