Skip linksSkip to Content
play
Live
Navigation menu
  • News
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Middle East
  • Explained
  • Opinion
  • Sport
  • Video
    • Features
    • Economy
    • Human Rights
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Podcasts
play
Live

In Pictures

Gallery|Child Rights

In Pictures: A day in the life of an Indian child scavenger

Ten-year-old Imradul Ali started scavenging after school over a year ago to help his family make ends meet.

Imradul Ali looks for recyclable material at a landfill on the outskirts of Gauhati. [Anupam Nath/AP Photo]
Published On 18 Feb 202118 Feb 2021
facebooktwitterwhatsappcopylink

Once school is done for the day, 10-year-old Imradul Ali rushes home to change out of his uniform so he can start his job as a scavenger in India’s remote northeast.

Armed with a large sack, he goes to a landfill in the slums of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state. Here, he hunts through heaps of other people’s garbage, searching for plastic bottles, glass or anything salvageable he can recycle or sell. Around him, cows graze on the mountains of waste that line the site.

Ali comes from a family of scavengers, or “rag pickers” – his father, mother and elder brother all earn their income through it. He started doing it over a year ago to help his family.

The family was hit hard last year by the COVID-19 pandemic, as they could not go to the landfill to work. They struggled during the months-long lockdown in India but were able to get food through the help of aid organisations.

Ali says he doesn’t want to spend his life doing this, but he doesn’t know what the future holds. “I want to continue going to school and would like to be a rich man,” he said.

He earns up to 100 rupees ($1.30) a day, while the rest of his family makes about 250 rupees ($3.30) each.

“It’s very difficult to run a family by rag-picking,” said Ali’s mother, Anuwara Begum.

Thadeus Kujur, who runs the Snehalaya charitable group, says it’s always sad to see children collecting scraps to survive. His group runs five childcare institutions, taking care of 185 boys and girls, and has helped 20,000 children over seven years. “We carry out motivational programs for poor parents to realise the value of education before putting their children into schools,” he said.

Advertisement

Ali’s father wants his son to continue going to school, hoping he will run his own shop or get a coveted government job when he grows up, putting an end to their suffering.

As for Ali, he wants to drive a car and wishes to own one in the future. “I want good food and clothes,” he said.

Imradul Ali's mother Anuwara Beghum, 30, pours oil on his head as he prepares to leave for school from his home on the outskirts of Gauhati, northeast India. [Anupam Nath/AP]
Advertisement
Scavenging is filthy and dangerous work. Aid groups say about 4 million people in India work as scavengers. [Anupam Nath/AP]
Scavenging is effectively the primary recycling system in the country, but the work is not environmentally friendly. Those who do it have few rights and are exposed to deadly poisons. [Anupam Nath/AP]
Imradul, second from left, studies with other students at a school near a landfill. [Anupam Nath/AP]
India’s last census in 2011 put the total number of child labourers between the ages of five and 14, including scavengers, at around 10 million. [Anupam Nath/AP]
According to a new World Bank Group and UN Children’s Fund analysis, an estimated one in six children, or 356 million globally, lived in extreme poverty before the pandemic began - and the number is expected to worsen significantly. [Anupam Nath/AP]
Advertisement
Imradul puts on a pair of shoes he salvaged from a landfill before going to school. [Anupam Nath/AP]
Imradul prays with schoolmates. [Anupam Nath/AP]
Once school is done for the day, Imradul rushes home to change out of his uniform so that he can start his job as a scavenger. [Anupam Nath/AP]


    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Work for us
    • Contact Us
    • User Accounts Help
    • Advertise with us
    • Stay Connected
    • Newsletters
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • rss
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network