Bhubaneswar: From cleaning toilets at a nursing home to becoming Odisha’s first woman desludger, Jhunulata Naik of Kataka has turned a life marked by hardship into a story of courage, independence and dignity.

A single mother and the sole breadwinner for her seven-year-old son after her husband left, Jhunulata once worked at a nursing home cleaning toilets to make ends meet. The job was physically demanding and offered little security, safety or professional recognition.

Her life took a new turn when she received specialised training in desludging onsite sanitation systems under the Odisha Government’s GARIMA Scheme through the Kataka Municipal Corporation (KMC).

The GARIMA Scheme aims to improve the lives of Core Sanitation Workers by promoting safer working conditions, skill development, social security, protective equipment, mechanisation and professional dignity.

With determination, Jhunulata entered the field of desludging and became the first woman desludger in Odisha. The transition has not only provided her with a livelihood but also brought greater confidence and self-respect.

Today, she works in a proper uniform with safety equipment and receives regular remuneration. Equipped with specialised skills, she performs an essential sanitation service while enjoying safer and more dignified working conditions.

For Jhunulata, however, her biggest motivation remains her son. She dreams of providing him with a good education and enabling him to pursue higher studies. Her profession has given her the means to work towards a future in which her child has opportunities beyond the hardships she experienced.

Her journey also represents a significant step towards breaking gender barriers in sanitation work. Her experience demonstrates how access to skills, opportunities, safety measures and institutional support can help women enter traditionally male-dominated occupations and build independent livelihoods.

The broader objective of GARIMA is to ensure that people engaged in keeping communities clean and healthy can themselves work and live with dignity. The scheme brings together safety measures, skill development, protective equipment, mechanisation and social-security initiatives for Core Sanitation Workers.

The commitment to worker safety was further strengthened at the previous national conclave, where Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced life insurance coverage for Core Sanitation Workers engaged in hazardous work, along with compensation in case of death during duty.

The next phase of this commitment will be highlighted at the 2nd National GARIMA Conclave 2026, scheduled to be held on August 22. The conclave will focus on the theme “Mission Zero: Ending Fatalities in Sanitation Work.”

The Mission Zero initiative seeks to ensure that no sanitation worker loses their life while performing sanitation duties. It places safety at the centre of sanitation work, with the objective of building systems that prevent fatal accidents rather than responding only after tragedies occur.

Jhunulata’s journey gives the mission a powerful human dimension. From cleaning toilets to becoming Odisha’s first woman desludger, she has transformed adversity into an opportunity for a more secure and dignified life.

Today, she steps out to work with confidence, carrying not only the responsibility of her profession but also the dream of building a better future for herself and her son.