At least 77% of India's 38,000 sewer and septic workers are from the Dalit community, according to data from India's National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE).

Dalits are a historically marginalized group, comprising the lowest level of India's centuries-old discriminatory caste hierarchy.

NAMASTE is an organization aiming to protect sanitation workers, while promoting the use of mechanized cleaning machines and securing subsidies to reduce manual labor.

In 2020, the Indian government announced measures to end the hazardous practice of manual scavenging — the removal of human excrement from toilets, septic tanks and sewers by hand — by August 2021.

The initiatives were part of the "Clean India Initiative," launched by Prime Minister

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