Ending Manual Scavenging:
A Ministry of Social Justice study analyzed 54 hazardous cleaning deaths linked to manual scavenging (out of 150 nationwide) across 8 States/UTs during 2022–2023. In 90% of cases (49 out of 54), no safety equipment was provided. The rest had minimal protection—gloves in 5 cases and gloves with gumboots in 1. Most deaths occurred in the absence of mechanized equipment such as suction pumps or robotic cleaners. In most cases, agencies lacked equipment readiness, and awareness drives were either absent or incomplete, even in places where they were conducted.Many workers entered sewers without consent, and even when written consent was taken, they were not informed of associated risks.Most workers were hired informally on individual contracts, with only a few as direct government or outsourced PSU employees.
