Empowering Sanitation Workers: NAMASTE Day Heralds Safety and Dignity
On NAMASTE Day, Union Minister BL Verma launched a helpline for waste pickers and distributed PPE kits and Ayushman cards to sanitation workers. The event highlighted the government's commitment to eradicating manual scavenging, promoting sanitation workers' safety, and including them in India's development vision.
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Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, BL Verma, launched a helpline for waste pickers during the NAMASTE Day event in Lucknow. The helpline aims to support sanitation workers, along with the distribution of PPE kits and Ayushman healthcare cards to Sewer and Septic Tank Workers (SSWs) and waste pickers.
Addressing the event, Verma emphasized the Prime Minister's mission under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to transform India's sanitation landscape since 2014. The NAMASTE Scheme aims to eliminate manual scavenging by leveraging technology, enhancing worker safety and dignity, and profiling sanitation workers for improved resource allocation.
The Ministry's proactive measures include occupational safety training with AR/VR modules, auctioning cleared government junk raising Rs 61 crore for cleanliness initiatives, and involving SSWs and waste pickers in capacity-building programs. The government remains committed to empowering marginalized communities under the NAMASTE scheme to ensure a clean and inclusive India.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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