“It’s been 10 years since I started working as a daily wage labourer in Hyderabad. My work on most days is to clear drainages – I was told it’s called manual scavenging by English-speaking folks. It’s a job nobody likes to do – who wants to clean other people’s waste? It stinks, it’s risky but we do not have an option. I have a 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son at home. How do I feed my family? I do whatever job I’m given. If I fulfill the work allotted, I get the money. If there’s no work, there’s no money for one day. We don’t earn enough to save and eat meals. On days I don’t earn, we sleep with a hungry stomach.

But who can I say all this to? Nobody wants to listen to our story. When I go to clean drainages, a few people treat me like a dog and shoo me away. They say I stink and I’m dirty. Very few people respect me and my job – they offer water or give me some leftover food. But most of them treat me horribly. Imagine if people like me didn’t turn up to work even for one day. Who will clean your waste? Who will clear blocked drainages? Who will do the ‘stinky and dirty’ job? Even now, coronavirus has affected all jobs, but ours continue. We don’t have masks, gloves or boots to get into the drainages. Two days ago, I was given one mask. When I removed it to drink water, it fell into the drainage. So I don’t have any now. But can I stop working? No! I have to clean your waste with the same hands I use to eat one meal a day.”

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