NAMASTE Scheme: 3rd Anniversary Event to Focus on Zero Fatalities and Mechanised Sanitation

Key facts

• Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar will commemorate the 3rd National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Day at Rabindra Sadan in Kolkata, West Bengal.
• The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment launched the NAMASTE Scheme in 2023-24 to ensure the dignity, safety, and social security of sanitation workers.
• The scheme aims to achieve zero fatalities in sanitation work and eliminate direct contact between sanitation workers and human faecal matter.
• The National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) is among the key organisations participating in the event, which also includes the Divya Kala Mela.
• Objectives of the scheme include strengthening Emergency Response Sanitation Units (ERSUs) and empowering workers through the formation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and entrepreneurship.
• Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) nationwide will organise parallel programmes focused on occupational safety training, health check-up camps, and demonstrations of mechanised sanitation equipment.
• The scheme targets the welfare of sewer and septic tank workers, waste pickers, and former manual scavengers to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities.