In India and Pakistan, the essential public service of maintaining sewer lines and septic tanks is tragically defined by systemic social injustice and lethal occupational hazards. This perilous work, often termed manual scavenging, involves workers descending into toxic underground chambers with little or no protective gear to physically clear blockages. This hazardous practice is not a matter of choice; it is almost universally a caste-based and hereditary occupation in India, overwhelmingly forced upon members of the historically marginalized Dalit (Scheduled Castes) community.
In Pakistan, the work is disproportionately assigned to religious minorities, perpetuating a similar cycle of discrimination. These workers face continuous exposure to deadly toxic gases (like methane and hydrogen sulfide) and pathogens, leading to high rates of injury, chronic illness, and frequent, preventable deaths from asphyxiation. Despite being legally banned in India since 1993 and again in 2013, the practice persists due to inadequate sanitation infrastructure, weak legal enforcement, and a deeply entrenched social stigma that traps these communities in a vicious circle of poverty, illiteracy, and systemic exclusion from dignified employment. Addressing this human rights crisis requires technological intervention, strict law enforcement, and comprehensive social rehabilitation to break the chains of caste-based discrimination.
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