The disposal of human waste by low-caste communities in India persists with support from officials, and the government should act to end the discriminatory practice, Human Rights Watch said Monday.
The work, known as manual scavenging, is officially banned but is still practised because large numbers of toilets, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas, are not connected with sewage systems.
“Successive Indian government attempts to end caste-based cleaning of excrement have been derailed by discrimination and local complicity,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Most of the manual scavengers, estimated to number in the thousands, belong to a community of Dalits, formerly regarded as untouchables, who comprise the lowest rung of the ancient Hindu caste-system.
Those who work as manual scavengers face threats of violence and eviction if they threaten to quit. Local officials also harass them and threaten to withhold their wages, Human Rights Watch said.
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