聖地ワーラーナシーのスラムとスウィーパー

Abstract

The phenomenons of slum has come to be regarded as a major problem of urbanization while no Indian city is free from slums, the problem appears to be more acute in metropolitan cities. Report of Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) about 21.5 per cent of the total population lives in 72 slum localities in the periphery of the main city. Acording to an estimate VDA about 85 per cent of the slum population lacks basic sanitary and water surply facility, most of the slum dwellers are employes as sweeper, weaver, footpath sellers and in biri making, construction etc. as daily wage earners and so on. A specific character of slum dwellers of Varanasi, many of the workers are employes as sweepers. The increasing demand for sweepers since the 1930s has led to the migration of many persons of low caste especially Scheduled caste from the rural areas. The expanding city needed more sweepers. In Varanasi municipal sweepers clean streets and public lavatories. Since both husbands and wives work and earn equal wages which are fixed by the Municipality, sweepers are among the better paid of the low caste groups, poor though they are. Sweeper's women have formal economic roles in the organised sector of the economy. They earn as much, or more, as the men and they do the same work. They are unusual in that have very great freedom of movement and financial independence and in many cases control the finances of the whole family. Its many differ points of any other upper castes. There is no doubt that the nature of a woman's economic contribution has important consequences for various aspects of status. I descrived the Sweeper castes daily life in Bhangipura, most adults in Bhangipura are employed as sweepers in the Munidipality.