Despite stating over the last few years that manual scavenging had been eliminated in the country, and that the only remaining threat was hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has now said that only 508 districts out of the total 766 districts in the country have declared themselves manual-scavenging free.
The data was revealed in a booklet the Ministry has prepared to outline its achievements under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014.
Also read | Poverty, caste-discrimination at the root of manual scavenging, reveals study
