Ragpicker's neighbourhood in Delhi: Lost childhood

From the archive record

“The ragpicker, despite doing work that benefits the municipality and society at large is condemned to live a very insecure existence” (Shashi Pandit). These children spend their childhood sorting and segregating waste so that can trade it or even keep it for proper consumption. While most children dream with a new toy, these kids help the community and its improper waste disposal system. Each ragpicker has a different story to tell, but they all suffered acute destitution once. For these kids, there is no other reality. A lot of garbage clearing thus is the done informally, by ragpickers who work without any job security, salary or dignity. Not just that, they are regularly exposed to cuts, infection, respiratory diseases and tuberculosis apart from poverty, humiliation, harassment, and s