Paper short abstract:

Sanitation workers in India face social prejudices and economic hardship. They undertake tasks that are dangerous, stigmatizing, underpaid, and yet remain unnoticed. This paper focuses on the tough existence and seeks to figure out how their employment has given them a sense of purpose.

Paper long abstract:

Sanitation employees are among the most important aspects of civilization. Even in the face of social and economic hardship, they continue to work for us. They labour every day, without taking a break, and yet they remain unnoticed. In India, the stigmatized social stratification continues to be a major driver of these employees' destiny. As a consequence, people, families, and communities, mostly 'Dalits,' are forced to undertake duties that are not only dangerous, but also extremely underpaid. This paper focuses on the tough existence that sanitation workers lead, and seeks to figure out how their employment has given them a sense of purpose. Persons involved in sanitation efforts have been assigned an unidentified identity in society, which is regarded as undesirable. It goes on to discuss the need of social security schemes. They become invisible in society as a result of this identity, and their future success and goals are hampered. The researcher discovered several sanitation workers at various places in Delhi. There were sanitation employees who were involved in various sorts of manual scavenging, including sewage cleaner, septic tank cleaners, rag pickers and open drain cleaners, as well as other sanitation workers operating in dormitories or on the highways. Only 30% of those who involved in manual scavenging were aware of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR 2013), and only 20% were knowledgeable that manual scavenging is illegal. Government programme for rehabilitation, alternative jobs, and children's education provide them with little advantages.