Naya Nepal Naya Blog

It sounds unbelievable that the rag pickers, who go around the city scavenging for rags, scrap and plastic wares in piles of waste, earn more than a gazetted first class officer of the country.

Presenting a study report about the scavengers conducted in 20 places of Kathmandu Metropolitan and Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Centre for Integral Urban Development (CIUD) said the professional pickers make more than Rs. 21,000 per month.

According to the report, one picker collects more than a hundred kg of trash including rags, plastic wares and scrap per day. These items are sold for Rs. 7 per kg in an average, which makes more than seven hundred per day, amounting to Rs. 21,000 monthly.

“Their earning is enough to manage the quality life but they don’t use it for their good and neither have the saving habit,” said Brinda Shrestha, one of the researchers. “They spend most of the income on alcohol and entertainment.”

According to Shrestha, more than 70 percent of the pickers are from indigenous communities out of which Tamang comprises over 20 percent. Around 12 percent pickers are Indian nationals.

The report has stated that 60 percent of the rag pickers are from economically active group—16 to 35 years. Seventy-seven percent of them are fully illiterate and the remaining can write their names.