Mumbai, Oct. 15 -- The BMC received as many as 355 declarations of manual scavenging from the M East and M West wards-covering areas like Govandi and Chembur-on Tuesday, in response to an annual exercise to identify manual scavengers in the city. In 2024, the civic body's first such survey had reported zero cases-a statistic it has maintained for years. "The names submitted today are of workers who are employed every year in the pre-monsoon cleaning of open and closed drains, chambers and sewer lines, where they are made to step in the drains and scoop out the waste in extremely hazardous conditions without adequate safety gear," said Shubham Kothari, one of the people behind the Loktantrik Kamgaar Union, a labour organisation that submitted the declarations on behalf of the workers. The BMC is conducting a city-wide survey from October 1-15 to identify individuals engaged in manual scavenging. Through advertisements and outreach via the solid waste management (SWM) department and community toilets, workers involved in the prohibited activity have been invited to register with the SWM supervisor in their respective wards. "Any person who claims to have been engaged in manual scavenging work-in septic tanks and sewer lines-has been called to register themselves with basic details, following which we will verify their claims," said an official from the BMC's SWM department. "With this, we hope to keep a track of manual scavenging in the city and offer the help of the different schemes available to those involved in the work." Amber Kale, 36, a worker from Chedda Nagar in Chembur whose declaration was submitted, said, "We have been involved in this work since 2005, and it happens every year for two and a half months before the monsoon. We're made to step into the open gutters, bear the foul stench coming out of it, and take out the waste with our hands. Rarely, if ever, are we given safety equipment. Health ailments are common among us who do this work. For a pair, we are paid between Rs.700 to Rs.750 for a day's work." However, the nature of the work performed by these labourers is likely to clash with the BMC's official definition of manual scavenging, which only includes work in sewer lines and septic tanks. The cleaning of storm water drains (SWDs), which are technically designed to carry overflow water and silt, does not fall under this definition, according to civic officials. Kothari said his organisation intends to challenge the BMC's "narrow view" of manual scavenging. "By the BMC's own admission, the distinction between sewer lines and SWD is not strict. Sewer from many homes, including slums, often makes its way into the SWD network. It is almost certain these workers come in direct contact with human excreta," he added....