Image: Twitter / Bezwada Wilson
‘Stop Killing us,’ these words are making the rounds on social media and India alike. The slogan is in response to a call by anti-manual scavenging movement Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) for a 75-day campaign decrying the deaths of sanitation workers in sewers and septic tanks.
Launched at Karol Bagh, Delhi, the ‘Stop Killing Us’ campaign calls for protests across India where workers will demand due recognition and compensation for deaths in sewers, septic tanks. Focused in the national capital until May 18 and then branched out to different cities.
In recent days, the campaign reached, Uttarakhand’s Dehradun, Rajasthan’s Sikar, Haryana’s Sadhaura. In all these places, sanitation workers gathered and held up huge block letters making up the phrase “STOP KILLING US.” Many other regions also reported such protests.
With the spirit & inspiration of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar women safai karamcharis lead the #Action2022 campaign in Dehradun Gave strong message to government – #StopKillingUs in Sewer-septic tanks pic.twitter.com/3n1iKyqwDg
— Bezwada Wilson (@BezwadaWilson) May 21, 2022
Braving scorching temperatures #Action2022 campaign against sewer and septic tank deaths moves to #Sikar in Rajasthan today | The heat is on and #StopKillingUs is the call to the nation pic.twitter.com/ewy6fxnIAH
— Bezwada Wilson (@BezwadaWilson) May 22, 2022
After Delhi, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, #Action2022 campaign reaches #Haryana today with a powerful protest at #Shahbad against sewer and septic tank deaths | #StopKillingUs | #JaiBhim pic.twitter.com/YQm28FMNtK
— Bezwada Wilson (@BezwadaWilson) May 26, 2022
Deafening silence everywhere! 17th day of #Action2022 campaign in #Haryana as the protest reaches Sadhaura in Yamunanagar district to raise the voice against killings in sewers and septic tanks | #StopKillingUs #JaiBhim pic.twitter.com/zqWjt94HP9
— Bezwada Wilson (@BezwadaWilson) May 27, 2022
SKA Founder Bezwada Wilson who gave this call had tweeted at the beginning of the campaign how 14 workers had died inside sewers between March 27 and March 30 in four states. However, he accused all government of a “criminal silence” in this regard. Later, Times of India reported how 57 people had died in such circumstances since Independence Day in 2021.
While mainstream media has covered this news, the coverage has not reached the level that the movement has spread to. For example, the Times of India on May 13 reported a local protest in Delhi.
In 2018, the SKA had organised an event of the same name in Jantar Mantar to decry the government’s inaction despite hundreds of manual scavenging-related deaths in the country. This apathy of the government was also apparent during recent legislative meetings when Social Justice Minister Ramdas Athawale claimed that there were zero deaths due to manual scavenging in the last five years. Later, he conceded to 325 deaths in accidents while undertaking hazardous cleaning.
Related:
Manual scavengers: Abandoned by state, derided by society
Manual scavenger deaths: Did Centre misrepresent death data in Parliament?
Gujarat: 12 sanitation workers dead, but no compensation?
No death due to manual scavenging: Social Justice Minister Athawale