New Delhi- As the vibrant hues of spring paint the landscape, there's a silent struggle unfolding in the streets of Pune. While most revel in the simple joys of the season, a group of unsung heroes - the sanitation workers - continue their tireless battle against filth and neglect.

Among them stands Sunita Tai, a weathered yet resilient figure in the city's sanitation landscape. Travelling all the way from Pune to New Delhi, she recently shared her poignant tale at a multi-stakeholder dialogue on sanitation work and manual scavenging.

Sunita Tai belongs to the Matang community who goes door to door to pick up trash. Instead of directly being employed by the municipal department, the elderly woman is part of a cooperative known as Swach which provides front-end waste management services to the citizens of Pune.

Organized by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, the event drew attention to the plight of sanitation workers like Sunita, who often labour under harsh conditions with little recognition or support.

Despite serving nearly a million households daily, Sunita and her fellow workers face numerous challenges, from irregular payments to mistreatment by homeowners.

During a passionate community discussion, Sunita bravely spoke out against the injustices she and her colleagues endure. Her words painted a vivid picture of the struggles faced by sanitation workers across Pune and beyond.

Swach serves 968,679 households daily, integrating 3,668 waste-pickers into its operations. A study conducted by Dalberg Associates in 2018 approximated that approximately 5 million sanitation workers were employed across various urban areas in India.

Under that, primarily all of the employees are under contracts, only a few have been made permanent.

As the community discussion unfolded, Sunita seized the microphone, her voice trembling with frustration. "We're at the mercy of our contractors," she exclaimed, her words laced with anger. "We work tirelessly, yet we're left in the dark about when our next payment will come. There are months when we don't see a single rupee."

With her weathered face bearing the marks of years of toil, Sunita's impassioned plea resonated with the audience, conveying the unspoken hardships faced by sanitation workers like herself. And in that moment, her words carried the weight of a silent struggle, demanding to be heard.

The workers are paid monthly wages ranging from 5000 to 10,000, which are below the minimum wage standard, exacerbating their financial struggles. To make ends meet, many of them resort to door-to-door collections, enduring humiliation and mistreatment from homeowners.

"People sometimes throw money at us because they believe touching us or being touched by us will make them dirty," explained the worker. She added that when they have to collect garbage from the homes of influential individuals, they often don't receive payment, depriving them of their rightful compensation.

In addition, they are tasked with dragging around 50-60 kilograms of trash every day, loading it onto carts, and dragging it through the streets. The buckets provided for this purpose are replaced only once a year, and if they break, the workers lack the financial means to replace them.

Sunita's challenges are not unique in Pune. Prachi, a founding Trustee of ACAR and an Advocacy fellow for NCDHR, shared the story of an unnamed female sanitation worker who recently suffered an accident while dragging a cart. As a result, she had to stay home due to her injuries, missing out on both work and wages, without any compensation.

In addition to physical injuries, sanitation workers face various health issues such as joint pain and deteriorating eyesight due to constant exposure to dirt.

However, they often don't have the time or resources to seek proper medical care. Instead, many rely on low-dose painkillers to alleviate their discomfort.

“Women do not have the time to keep a check on their health, so most are constantly on low-dose painkillers such as crocin, unless the pain becomes unbearable, or they fall miserably sick. Because going to the hospital would mean missing out on the day’s wage,” Prachi stated.

A significant number of these workers, including Sunita, belong to the Dalit community. Unfortunately, due to a lack of awareness or documentation, many of them do not possess caste certificates, making them unable to access welfare schemes designed for marginalized communities.

Furthermore, these workers rarely get time off or leave. Before attending the event, Sunita had to arrange for a substitute worker to cover for her so she could take some time off, highlighting the constant struggle for even a brief respite from their demanding work schedules.