Waste pickers of Maharashtra are in a celebratory mood. On August 27th, the Maharashtra Government finally conceded to their demand for inclusion under the centrally sponsored pre-matric scholarship scheme for children of those working in “unclean” occupations.
The significance of immersing the idol symbolizes the Lord taking our sorrows along with Him and returning again next year to protect us. But between this symbolism and merriment lies the bleak reality of ecological degradation that comes with immersing idols and Nirmalaya in our water bodies.
Seemapuri in north east Delhi is one of many hubs where waste pickers (kabadiwala) bring, sort, bale and ship waste resources.
Since more than one year now a start up of all women waste workers has been crafting one of a kind flowers and other gift items. The creative process is 100% reuse down to the packaging being used for export shipping!
We are pleased that waste management—and in particular, the important roles that informal waste workers play in municipal solid waste management—is receiving needed attention from India’s central ministries. However, we are supremely disappointed in the process by which this manual has been drafted.
The idea of “equity in education” in India has unfortunately remained just an idea… And this is despite the fact that a large section of the marginalized in our country has been involved in its pursuit. Access to education continues to remain difficult for the children of waste pickers whose relentless efforts and petitions have fallen on deaf ears, and don’t find a place within the agenda of the Maharashtra government.
14 months after the Central Government Included Waste Pickers into the ‘Pre-Matriculation Scheme for children of those engaged in “Unclean Occupations”, the Government of Maharashtra has not acted on the government GR.
Greetings from KKU! I am glad to inform you all that Sajag/Kachra Kamgar Union (KKU) has conducted a very successful campaign for enrollment of rag-pickers to the electoral rolls of Delhi and also facilitated their applications for ration-cards under recently passed Food Security Act.
This report from the union of waste pickers, KKPKP, in Pune, India details the interventions of the union to improve the health of their members, including the setting up of a municipally funded health insurance scheme, health advocacy and the use of trust hospitals.
Don’t Waste People captures the voices of a few of the hundreds of thousands of people who work as waste pickers in Delhi, India, sorting through trash from roadsides, municipal bins and landfills and selling the reusable material to make a living.
This petition urges the Pune (India) municipal government to 1. revoke the existing schemes offering cash rewards to meritorious students from privileged classes, and change the eligibility criteria to benefit marginalized children and 2. pay the welfare benefits due towards education of waste-pickers’ children for the period 2008-2013, and to pass a comprehensive welfare benefit scheme for them for the future.
Recently there was an article/video asking for a ban on waste picking and attacking the organization that is working to organize this section of eco warriors (they retrieve valuables like nobody can), they say waste picking should NOT be formalized. Listen to this lady whose livelihood depends on the waste the city throws.
I am writing this email on behalf of All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh(AIKMM). There has been a massive fire in Masoodpur in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi around 7:30 am on 25 April 2014, where waste recyclers live. Approximately 1000 huts (Jhuggi) were razed to the ground.
Chintan in partnership with the Indian Railways is celebrating Earth Day on April 22nd, 2014 at the New Delhi Railway Station.
SWaCH Cooperative in Pune, India, appeared on a national television show Satyamev Jayate in March. In the episode “Invisible Environmentalists”, the show’s host Aamir Khan interviews Laxmi Narayan, co-founder of SWaCH and SWaCH waste picker Saru Bai, who now runs a compost plant with her husband.
