Manhole cleaners keep working despite ban on manual job

Manual scavenging continues in Mysuru despite Supreme Court banning this practice way back in 1993. The law banning manual scavenging was extended and clarified to include insanitary latrines, ditches and pits in 2013. These photographs were captured yesterday bang in front of Lakshmipuram Police Station.  Unfortunately, almost all manual scavengers (Safai Karmacharis) remain temporary workers on contract even after decades of service, and barely earn minimum wages. Often times, it is local officials who instruct them to clean up open defecation spots or dry latrines even while refusing to officially acknowledge the presence of manual scavenging in their localities.