On World Toilet Day, The Wire brings you some of its coverage from #Grit, a project dedicated to manual scavenging and sanitation. Launched in June this year, #Grit has reported on the lives of manual scavengers across the country, who continue in the caste-based profession despite it being banned. There have also been reports on the Swachh Bharat Mission and its implementation. Analysis and opinion pieces have looked at other aspects of India’s sanitation troubles.
These are a few of the articles #Grit has published recently.
1. In a two-part series from Rajasthan, Shruti Jain looked at how the Swachh Bharat Mission doesn’t look quite the same on the ground as it does on paper. In the first article reported from Lalsot, Jain found that to reach the ‘open defecation free’ goal, non-compliant beneficiaries of the scheme are being threatened with legal notices. The second part from Phulera looked at how despite having attained the ODF tag, people in the town are suffering because of an acute water shortage – which makes most toilets unusable.
2. Dheeraj Mishra has been filing Right to Information applications to uncover details around the rehabilitation of manual scavengers. He found that not a single rupee has been allotted for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers since the Narendra Modi government came to power. In addition, the Centre does not have data on how many people have died while cleaning sewers or the compensation their families have received.
3. In a series of articles reported from Uttar Pradesh, Kabir Agarwal looked at how officials are doing whatever they can to make sure that they meet the goals of the Swachh Bharat Mission on paper – even if this means fudging data or imagining toilets that don’t really exist.
4. Simran Bajaj and Anjali Venugopalan have reported a four-part series on manual scavengers in Tamil Nadu, examining how just because some sanitation workers are no longer called ‘manual scavengers’, it doesn’t mean the work they do is different.
5. The Centre has been conducting another survey to count the number of manual scavengers in India – this time with the help of organisations that work with manual scavengers. Already, this survey has counted four-times as many manual scavengers as the last such endeavour. In a report from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, Jahnavi Sen looked at how that survey is being conducted. Ashif Shaikh’s opinion piece discusses how these surveys have been mishandled in the past, leading to seven government surveys coming up with seven very different numbers.
6. Vasudevan Mukunth analysed what goes on inside sewers and septic tanks that makes them so hazardous, and the kind of equipment needed to ensure that those dealing with our waste are putting themselves in danger.
7. Activists have alleged that manual scavenging has existed for all these years largely because of apathy – both from the government and the rest of society. Kabir Agarwal reported on a recent convention where inventors highlighted technology that exists – and isn’t expensive – that can help India rid of manual scavenging once and for all. At the same time, in an opinion piece, Sweta Celine Xess wrote about how the use of machines may not be enough to destigmatise sanitation work in India. What is needed is a clear approach to dealing with caste prejudice.
8. Santoshi Markam visited the families of five men who died while cleaning a sewage tank in west Delhi in September this year. The families alleged that the men were made to do work that wasn’t what they were hired for. Jahnavi Sen reported from a protest in Delhi where families of several manual scavengers who lost their lives had gathered to demand justice, dignity and self-respect.
9. In Puri, Odisha, the nine-day Rath Yatra may be a festive occasion for the people, but it means additional work for sanitation workers. Tazeen Qureshy spoke to Dalit families that keep the holy town clean about the discrimination they face.
10. Why is it important for the media – and The Wire – to invest in in-depth coverage of manual scavenging and sanitation? The Wire‘s public editor Pamela Philipose addressed this question in her column, writing, “So should shit make news? Given this tragic history, can there be two answers to that question?”
You can read The Wire‘s complete coverage of manual scavenging and sanitation under the #Grit project here.
If you would like to write an article for #Grit or send ideas about what we should be covering, please email Jahnavi Sen at jahnavi@cms.thewire.in.