They do the work you won’t

The scorching heat of May means different things to different people in Mumbai While the more affluent use this time to escape to cooler climes for some this is the perfect season to prepare the annual stock of papads and spices Therersquos another group of people who throng Mumbairsquos nullahs for work Thousands of men and women can be seen crawling through these gutters taking out silt Where do these people come from and where do they vanish with the first shower of rainThese nameless people who are instrumental in ensuring Mumbairsquos smooth passage especially through the monsoon travel thousands of miles from droughtprone districts of Beed Osmanabad and Amravati and Salem in Tamil Nadu in the hope of earning extra wages For some Mumbai is now homeLaxmi Harijan opened a tiny shop outside her home where she sold chocolates biscuits and toys to make ends meet But she doesnrsquot have the money to replenish items in the shopThough manual sewer cleaning has been banned in India under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act 2013 the practice continues unhindered While Bobcat machinesmdashequipment to pick up and clear silt and debris from drainsmdashare used to clean most of the major nullahs there is a network of 508 small nullahs and tiny gutters which are cleaned manually In such cases the law has made it mandatory to use safety equipment Poverty caste discrimination and lack of education has forced them to engage in hazardous labourLaxmi Harijan 42 lives in a 10 by 10 feet kholi in a lane near the sixth number nullah in Malwani Malad Malwani is one of the biggest slums in the western suburbs Laxmi usually takes a bus or shared auto paying Rs 20 to reach Hindustan Naka near Charkop where she waits with other daily wage labourers to be hired by contractors ldquoEvery day the cleaning spots changerdquo she says Laxmi used to prefer walking but after ldquomy mother died two years ago due to COVID I was diagnosed with high blood sugar due to which I am unable to walk as muchrdquo Laxmi has been doing this job for almost 22 years now right after the birth of her first child ldquoI used to stay in Dharavi before I was married and went to school till Class VI I wanted to study further but my father opposed it and instead got me married I am lucky to have a good husband He is a garbage truck worker Though he drinks regularly he does not scold or beat me He was ready to support my education but I delivered my first baby within a year The other two came soon afterrdquo Laxmi says she started cleaning sewers to support her large and growing family ldquoIn the initial days I cried a lot but there wasnrsquot any other option I tried other odd jobs but there was greater demand for cleaning nullahsrdquoSome years ago in the hope of finding a way out of this Laxmi opened a tiny shop outside her home where she sold chocolates biscuits and toys She invested around R30000 ldquoIt was running smoothly and I would make around Rs 200Rs 300 daily but fancier shops opened up in the neighbourhood and customers started to drop Now I need at least R20000 to stock new toys at the shoprdquo At present she makes Rs 280 daily Her tasks involve picking up silt from the gutters Laxmi has three childrenmdashthe eldest Ganesh is 23 years old ldquoHe completed Class X We all advised him to continue with his studies but he didnrsquot listen Now he too does odd jobsrdquo said Kavita the youngest daughter who is 20yearsold Though Kavita was keen on completing her HSC last year the switch to virtual classrooms made it difficult ldquoSomeone stole her mobile phone and with that her dreams to study came to an end She is now learning sewing At least if she has some skills she wouldnrsquot have to do such jobs after marriagerdquo said Laxmi Vijay the second son has started doing housekeeping jobs after discontinuing his studiesLaxmi who has been cleaning nullahs for the last 22 years says that she tried to give her children an education so that they could find a way out While her sons do odd jobs her daughter is learning sewing Her husband Aasat is a garbage truck workerHer husband Aasat told midday that his father used to sell rice but it didnrsquot bring food on the table Super Raj Harijan 26 another worker lives in the adjacent gully He also cleans gutters in Charkop Super Raj is unhappy for more reasons than onemdashapart from his work itrsquos his unusual name that has left him dejected He used to study at a local municipal school but dropped out in Class VIII This writer found Super Raj in chestdeep sludge inside a manhole without gloves or shoes ldquoTwo years ago they provided helmets shoes and gloves but this time around we havenrsquot been provided with any safety gear Sometimes there are broken glasses and sharp objects in these sewers and it can lead to serious injuryrdquo In the summer season Super Raj makes R350 per day for a fourhour jobHis father Super Mani moved from Tamil Nadu with his family at a very early age ldquoMy father used to work as a construction labourer I worked with a municipal garbage truck in Andheri Eastrdquo His wife Chinnakanni clean drains in Kandivli She earns Rs 300 per day ldquoI donrsquot work the rest of the year But I can earn in these two months and it helps us tide over expenses I see it as any other jobrdquo The family worked even during the pandemic Super Mani ldquoEveryone was afraid but someone has to do thisrdquo