Tamil Stars Join Hands For Campaign To Eradicate Manual Scavenging

Tamil Nadu has witnessed a string of deaths of manual scavengers in the last few months.

Image used for representational purposes. 

(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Veteran actor Sathyaraj, comedian Vivek, and filmmaker Vetrimaran are among several members of the Tamil film fraternity who have joined hands with the Jay Bhim Mandram – an organisation against caste discrimination – to spread awareness about the evils of manual scavenging.

In March 2014, the Supreme Court ordered all states to abolish manual scavenging.

All other countries have mechanised processes to clean sewers. Can we not find a machine to do the same? We want members of a certain caste to do the cleaning for us. To get rid of manual scavenging, we need to get rid of caste.

Sathyaraj

Tamil Nadu, which is considered to be one of the most urbanised states in the country with its vast network of underground drainage and septic tanks, has witnessed a significant number of deaths of manual scavengers. In April, a manual scavenger died due to asphyxiation while attempting to rescue a co-worker trapped inside a sewage pipeline in Mogappair East. In March, three men died while cleaning an underground sewage tank in Cuddalore.

Jay Bhim Manram plans to showcase a play on 30 June to spread awareness on the issue.

“We have invited all political parties to the play. The general public is also invited,” says Jeya Rani, a coordinator at Jay Bhim Mandram. “Our campaign is called ‘Annihilation of Caste system and Manual Scavenging’," she adds.

The play, based on Thavirkapattavargal, a novel based on manual scavenging, will be held at Kamarajar Arangam at 5 pm. At the venue, signatures of those present will be collected against the practice and submitted to the Government as a petition.

(The article was originally published on The News Minute.)