Varun Gandhi aims to make Sultanpur free of manual scavenging

BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Monday launched an initiative with 100 of 880 identified manual scavengers in the Sultanpur district.

Sultanpur in central Uttar Pradesh could soon be the country’s first manual scavenging-free district.

BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Monday launched an initiative with 100 of 880 identified manual scavengers in the district. (AFP File Photo)

BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Monday launched an initiative with 100 of 880 identified manual scavengers in the district.

They will be trained in different trades and their products sold under the tag “made by manual scavengers” in outlets of companies such as Fabindia and Anokhi in metro cities.

“More than 600 manual scavengers have died over the past one year while at work,” Gandhi told HT. “No poor person will leave his job. Our aim is to provide alternate and respectable employment opportunities to them.” Manual scavenging was abolished in India in 1993, but it continues in several states.

The two-time Lok Sabha MP said 400 more manual scavengers will be added to the list next week and given three-month paid training (~6,000 each per month) by different NGOs.