The hidden lives of those who protect Mumbai from floods

On the morning of May 24, Rajshri Kale wheeled a tottering handcart to a roadside drain on Prakash Thorat Marg, in Mumbai’s Chembur West. There, her husband stood ankle-deep in dark water, digging out sludge, which he scooped into a metal ghamela, a kind of tub. Rajshri picked up the ghamela, emptied it into her handcart and wheeled it to a heap of garbage nearby, into which she tipped the tub to empty the sludge.

Their three-year-old daughter, who had accompanied them to the worksite, followed Rajshri to and fro on the busy street. When she began to cry, Rajshri fished out a one-rupee coin from the sludge, wiped it clean with her dupatta and handed it to the child, who immediately stopped crying, played with the coin for a few moments, and then put it in her mouth.

Passersby hurried up and down the street. Upon noticing the cleaners at work, many frowned with disgust, and then covered their noses, to block off the stench from the sludge. But Rajshri and her group continued their work. They handled the waste with their bare hands, and wore no boots, gloves or masks, or any other protective equipment. Occasionally, as one lifted wet sludge out...

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