What was once considered an unavoidable occupational hazard for sanitation workers in Odisha is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Workers who for decades manually cleaned sewers and septic tanks are increasingly shifting to mechanised sanitation services, improving workplace safety while restoring dignity to one of the country’s most hazardous professions.
The transformation is being driven under the state’s flagship Gaurav and Respect for Individuals Involved in Manual Activities (GARIMA) initiative, which combines mechanised cleaning technologies with social security measures to eliminate hazardous manual sanitation practices and improve the lives of core sanitation workers.
Raju Naik, a sanitation worker with the Berhampur Municipal Corporation in southern Odisha, is a case in point. Once required to enter hazardous sewer lines for cleaning, he now operates mechanised desludging equipment after receiving specialised training. According to Raju, access to protective equipment, insurance, housing support and regular health check-ups has not only made his work safer but also improved his family’s financial security and his children’s future.
Under the initiative, sanitation workers are being equipped with mechanised sewer and septic tank cleaning machines along with comprehensive personal protective equipment (PPE), including helmets, gloves, masks, safety glasses and heavy-duty boots. The measures are aimed at minimising occupational risks while ensuring safer and more professional sanitation services.
The programme also provides an integrated social security package, including hazard allowance, life and accident insurance, periodic health check-ups, identity cards, subsidised food security benefits and housing assistance under PMAY-U. Dedicated Garima Halls with rest areas and sanitation facilities have also been established in urban local bodies to improve workers’ welfare and working conditions.
According to the Housing and Urban Development Department, around 9,364 core sanitation workers across Odisha have been brought under the initiative.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthening the GARIMA programme, stating that the focus remains on ensuring safe working conditions, expanding welfare coverage and promoting dignity of labour through complete mechanisation of hazardous sanitation work.
To further the initiative, the Housing and Urban Development Department will organise the 2nd National GARIMA Conclave in Bhubaneswar on August 22 and 23, 2026. The conclave will bring together policymakers, urban local bodies, technology experts, development partners and sanitation workers from across the country to exchange best practices, promote mechanised sanitation and advance worker-centric policies aimed at eliminating hazardous manual cleaning.