| A sanitation worker shares with Community Correspondent Rohini Pawsar, how he has lot all hope of receiving basic dignity. The caste system in India prescribes that all menial and filthy jobs be done by the 'lowest' caste. In continuation of this 'tradition', sanitation workers around the country are almost always Dalits. This we believe is a continuation of untouchability practices. Added to this are the deplorable conditions under which they have to carry on their daily work. Sewage workers in India do not have boots, gloves, masks, or any other type of life-saving equipment at their disposal. They often plunge into 20 feet deep sewers beneath hot asphalt roads clad only in a loincloth. They struggle to breathe, and many asphyxiate due to the toxic fumes in the drains. This is the daily life of Dalit sewer cleaners across India. This video is a part of the “Article 17” campaign launched by Video Volunteers, in order to urge theNational Commission for Schedule Castes, which is the government body that is constitutionally appointed to direct and implement the safeguards against untouchability, to prosecute cases of untouchability. |
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