KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday orally observed that the Kerala Headload Workers Act and the unloading and loading works under that Act are ‘relic of the past’. Justice Devan Ramachandran said that “this Act should not be in force in the first place. It was implemented back in the 1970s due to cultural implications. It’s a relic of the past.”
The loading and unloading tasks should be performed by machines, and the workers should be trained to operate them. “I can’t believe the concept of headload workers still exist in the 21st century. Have you ever heard of it anywhere else than Kerala?” asked the judge and added that the government should relocate them.
The court further added that there are hardworking headload workers. “There are good people. None of them has proper lives after 50 years or 60 years,” observed the court.The court pointed out the earlier practice of manual scavenging. “Can you imagine people entering the septic tank to clean it? Though this was banned, the practice is still existing in some parts of the country. Luckily, it’s not in Kerala now,” it said.