Posted on 10/01/2014 9:53:20 PM PDT by Steelfish
The Inhuman Practice of Manual Scavenging Lives On
Abhirr V P CNN-IBN Aug 14, 2011
Kolar: Despite being declared illegal, the practice of manual scavenging is still rampant in certain parts of the country, even after 65 years of Independence. The pictures of manual scavengers emptying a pit of human waste at Kolar in Karnataka can disgust one.
Dealing with the extreme stench, inhaling toxic gases, it is one of the most inhuman jobs in the world. They earn Rs 100 each for cleaning a pit of human waste and the only way they bring themselves to do this is by staying dead drunk on the job.
Prabhu, a safai karmachari in Kolar Gold Fields said, "We drink from the age of 10 years. We can't enter a pit if we are not drunk, so we drink from the previous night. I can't eat if I see food as I think of the waste in the pit. Many friends have died young because of breathing problems."
(Excerpt) Read more at ibnlive.in.com ...
LIVE: Modi launches ‘Clean India’ initiative: October 2, 2014
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/modi-to-launch-clean-india-initiative/article6467953.ece
Why clean a cess pit?
they do this in China too, remember someone drowned trying to get their phone back
Because they get full?
Hey ya missed a spot! Get back in there!
Dig a new one.
I have personally witnessed men wearing only shower sandals and shorts, empty a concrete septic pit by climbing down and lifting up buckets of sewage.
India’s pretty crowded.
Might not be enough room.
This is the grossest story I’ve read!
They are poor but I’m sure some foresight would enable a better system.
A while back there was an article like this from Mexico city. those guys had full Jules Verne dive gear with oxygen.
Coffeebreak’s over. Back on your heads!
And you think you have a crappy job...
Mike Rowe should do one of his “dirty jobs” episodes there. Think he can handle? I have seen him get into sewer pipes, but this is extreme!
By the way, these people are untouchable castes... probably nobody sane would touch them given their profession.
Coming soon to a neighborhood in the U.S.A.: the next step in a de-industrialized service economy.
Like our journalists.
Every Obama supporter should have to do this for the rest of their lives.
this must be the shovel ready job that O was talking about.
I have this on good authority that the infrastructure in India is purposely kept as is to keep the untouchables employed. It makes sense if you think about it. What do you do with a billion people?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.