Manual scavengers to be equipped with machines

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday welcomed the decision of the Social Welfare department to ensure a dignified life for manual scavengers in the city, with Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam starting the work to equip manual scavengers with machines to clean sewage.

The Social Welfare department, in association with various NGOs and other organisations, will ensure funds for labourers with which they would be able to buy machines to clean sewers.

"I want the labourers to live a more dignified life, and with this project they can become entrepreneurs in their field," Gautam said on Friday.

The National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation, Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) and other organisations came forward to execute the plan.

The Delhi government has imposed a complete ban manual scavenging in the city. Gautam, who also serves as Delhi Water Minister, took the initiative to empower manual scavengers.

On Friday, the Minister, along with the DICCI chairman Milind Kamble and other officials, presented the plan to the Chief Minister. The Social Welfare department plans to include banks in this project, to fund the labourers to buy machines. Many sanitation workers, who have been involved in manual scavenging since generations, will be able to avail these machines.

Talking to Millennium Post, Gautam said: "This model has worked well in Hyderabad, and now the city is manual scavenging free. All the labourers are doing the work well with the equipment." He said that Delhi will follow the same technique and ensure empowerment of the labourers.

Adding to this initiative, DICCI officials also presented a detailed plan of how they want to make labourers commercially viable.

The organisation also observed that their final target is to make them entrepreneurs. After understanding the proposal, Kejriwal welcomed the move and ensured support from his side. Gautam will soon announce the project.