Abstract

As India possess the highest population in the world after China and even after seventy-five years of independence, the development of waste management processes are not up to the mark and still there is practice of manual scavenging at various parts of the country. The people who are called scavengers are economically weak and socially backward. They have highly sophisticated unhealthy lifestyle and highly unhygienic working condition. The lack of government support, poor education, un-developed technologies and religious belief about the scavenger’s is highly contradictory. The group of people “Dalits” who perform manual scavenging belongs to a particular community who are assigned for this particular work according to the religious beliefs in India. This article analyzes the different types of wastes that are handled by the scavengers and also it throws light on the working condition and living standards of the people performing scavenging operations.

Keywords