Over 20,500 manual scavengers identified in India : Govt survey

Over 20,500 people have been identified as involved in manual scavenging in India, with Uttar Pradesh accounting for nearly 6,000 of them, according to a new survey being conducted by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment across 18 states.

An earlier survey conducted over a period of three years (2014-17), based on figures provided by states, had estimated there were 13,770 manual scavengers in the country, officials said.

Some states like Gujarat, Kerala and Maharashtra had even denied the existence of persons engaged in manual scavenging in their territories, however, the latest ongoing survey has revealed that manual scavenging was prevalent even in these states.

The recent survey, which started in February and is ongoing, will cover 170 districts across the 18 states, the officials said.

The latest survey has so far identified 20,596 manual scavengers across the 18 states with UP accounting for 6,126 followed by Maharashtra with 5,269 and Karanataka with 1744, said