Manual Scavengers: A Blind Spot in Urban Development Discourse

Mental health at the intersections of marginalization: A conceptual model to explore the mental health concerns of women sanitation workers in India

“…Positioned at the “lowest” levels of the caste hierarchy, they are deemed to be “ritually polluted,” leaving them underprivileged and disempowered in all domains of society. Customarily, they were restricted to caste‐based occupations in sanitation and scavenging with limited resources and opportunities for socio‐economic mobility (Amnesty International, 2020; Darokar, 2018; Kadlak et al, 2019; Participatory Research in Asia [PRIA], 2019). The customary and intergenerational nature of these essential occupations remains largely unaltered to the present day owing to discriminatory barriers in education and occupational opportunities.…”

“…The casteist nature of sanitation work finds continuity under the privatization of essential services, resulting in the workers’ informal contractual recruitment at low rates of pay without adequate training, personal protective equipment (PPE), socio‐economic security, health insurance, and protection by labor welfare legislations reserved solely for permanent workers (Dalberg Advisors, 2017; Darokar, 2018; World Bank, International Labour Organization [ILO], WaterAid, & WHO, 2019). Its precarious nature and occupational hazards pose substantial risks to the workers’ physical and mental health, resulting in increased risks of physical injuries and accidents, musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory problems, dermatological infections, eye and ear problems, gastrointestinal diseases, hypertension, fever, fatigue, malaria, dengue, leptospirosis, waterborne diseases, and anemia (Darokar, 2018; Jayakrishnan et al, 2013; Kadlak et al, 2019; Nagaraj et al, 2004; Tiwari, 2008; WaterAid India, 2019). Occupational hazards and chronic morbidities also contribute to high mortality and premature deaths among workers (Nagaraj et al, 2004; Rangamani et al, 2015).…”

Manual Scavenging in Mumbai: The Systems of Oppression

“…Government surveys of manual scavengers, even when conducted in cities, register only those sanitation workers who clean insanitary toilets, denying knowledge of all other kinds of manual scavenging (Dubey 2018a). Outside of a few studies (Bakshi 2018;Darokar 2018Darokar , 2020Pradhan and Mittal 2020), little is known about urban forms of manual scavenging and the lives of those engaged in this practice. This article offers a glimpse into the practice of manual scavenging in urban India and how the workers involved are affected.…”

“…While there are a few studies (Darokar 2018(Darokar , 2020 that present some statistics about the conditions of urban manual scavengers, little is known about their lifeworlds and lived experiences. This study aimed to gain an entry into the worlds of manual scavengers and highlight their challenges in their voices.…”

“…Being a large metropolitan city, the sanitation requirements of Mumbai are exacting (Dewoolkar 2018). Darokar (2018) finds that while the waste generation in Mumbai has increased tremendously in the recent past, the number of workers and their equipment have remained almost unchanged. A study on manual scavengers in the city estimated that "an average of 20 sewer workers die each month from accidents, suffocation or exposure to toxic gases" (Parth 2014: para.…”