New Delhi: There are officially 676,000 manual scavengers in India and the Safai Karmachari Sanghatana is working towards eradicating the inhuman practice by the end of this year, said an official at a conference on manual scavenging at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) here on Friday.

Berdaza Wilson, President of the Sanghatana, said, "Officially there are 676,000 manual scavengers in India, though unofficial figures put the figure at 1.3 million. We are working on an Action 2010, as per which we aim at eradicating manual scavenging by December 31 this year."

Wilson, who comes from a Dalit family which was engaged in manual scavenging, was speaking at IGNOU's lecture on 'Inhuman Practices of Manual Scavenging: Cleaning up shit' on Friday.

Wilson said, "Manual scavenging is considered one of the lowest and most degrading occupations. The caste system dictates that those born into particular Dalit sub-castes should engage in manual scavenging and should remain doing so throughout their lives."

Wilson managed to break through the shackles and now works at improving the lives of others who still work as manual scavengers.

In 2003, the Sanghatana filed a petition in the Supreme Court about manual scavenging being practised in various states.

"Most states were in the denial mode about manual scavenging, but we had proof in the form of videos and pictures of dry latrines. Those states were later forced to demolish them," Wilson said. IANS