As a concerned citizen you have been engaged with the issue of persons employed in manual scavenging. You notice that despite laws and strictures from the highest court of the land the practice of employing human labour to clean sewers continues. While the administration has to ensure the cleanliness of the urban localities, those who are employed also have to earn to sustain themselves and their families. The death of few workers recently due to asphyxiation while cleaning a septic tank has caused much consternation in your locality. You would like to engage with the situation by writing to the administration, for which you need to find an answer to the following: (a) Identify the stakeholders involved and state their conflicting interests. (b) What challenges does the administration face in curbing this social evil? (c) Enumerate the steps to deal with the problem.

Conflicting interests

1. For myself Stopping manual scavenging despite knowing its importance as a means of sustenance for the poor.

2. For manual scavengers Feeding their families, or raising their voices against manual scavenging, which is illegal.

3. For administration a) Enforcing outright ban, or allowing the practice as it provides sustenance. b) Stopping manual scavenging, or using it to achieve cleanliness targets at low costs.

4. For locality Empathising with the workers, or ignore the issue as it provides them livelihood, and keeps the locality clean.

Challenges faced include

1. It provides employment and livelihood to the weaker sections.
2. Alternatives to manual scavenging are costly.
3. It is rooted in social evils of casteism.
4. It is a necessary evil to keep the streets clean.
5. Government's own departments like railways are involved in recruiting them.

The steps needed can be divided into the following categories:

Social

• Awareness campaigns and media drives.
• Changing attitude against casteism.
• Inculcating the spirit of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which focuses equally on dignity of our cleaners.