The New York Times features a slideshow of Manwara Begum, one of the garbage collectors working in Delhi. More than 95 percent of New Delhi has no formal system of house-to-house garbage collection, so it falls to the city's ragpickers - one of India's poorest and most marginalized groups - to provide this basic service.
In the above photograph, Manwara hauls a garbage cart along her morning collection route in Netaji Nagar, blowing her whistle to notify residents of her arrival. It's backbreaking work, and Manwara earns about 40 rupees rupees a day, roughly a dollar. The NYT refers to Manwara as Ms Begum...which is incorrect. Manwara is Muslim and the name Begum is a honorific, not a surname.
Delhi's Garbage Collectors (Registration may be required)
