HIV Positive Girls at Hyderabad Orphanage Made To Clear Manhole With Bare Hands

Five 12-years-old girls were allegedly forced to clean up a choked sewerage pipeline at an orphanage in Hyderabad. The warden and supervisor of the orphanage, which is home to many HIV positive children, were arrested after a passerby saw the girls lifting filth with their bare hands and reported the matter to the police.

According to a report by the Indian Express, K Arvind who was passing by the AGAPE (Ambassadors of Goodwill for AIDS Patients Everywhere) Orphans Hostel at Uppal area shot a video that shows the hostel warden  Prajavathi and supervisor G Elavarasan giving instructions to the girls while standing at a safe distance. 

Officials from Uppal police station along with child rights activists raided the orphanage after which Prajavathi and Elavarasan were held under the Child Labour Act, 1986, and sections of Juvenile Justice Act, the report quotes police inspector Narasimha Reddy as saying. 

It is to be noted that both child labour and manual scavenging are illegal in India.  The Child Labour (Prohibition And Regulation) Act, 1986 says, "Any person who employs any child in contravention of the provisions of section 3 of the Act is liable for punishment with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to one year or with fine which shall not be less than Rs 10,000 but which may extend to Rs 20,000 or both."

However, in defence, the orphanage staffers reportedly said that since the municipal workers did not turn up to clean the tank after several requests, the young girls 'volunteered' to clean it, adding  that since the children staying in the orphanage were HIV patients, no one would come to clean the manholes.