A woman in Karnataka’s Raichur district stood in a dirty drain to protest after being denied a meeting with the district in-charge minister, Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil. Geetha Singh, a safai karmachari (civic worker engaged in sanitation work), was protesting to demand a separate burial ground and national identity cards for safai karamcharis.
Singh poured the dirty water over herself and staged the protest after being stopped by the minister’s security staff. She was attempting to submit her demands. Her actions sparked controversy and photos of the protest quickly went viral on social media.
The incident brought attention to ongoing protests in the district against the appointment of minister Patil as in-charge. Locals have accused him of being against the establishment of AIIMS, a medical research facility, in Raichur, which the community has been advocating for several years. They are instead demanding the appointment of N.S. Bosaraju, a local and minister for Minor Irrigation and Science and Technology.
Singh’s protest has drawn attention to the struggle of safai karamcharis, who often lack access to basic facilities despite performing crucial sanitation work. The incident underlines the need for better representation for marginalized communities and the democratization of access to decision-makers.
