Up to 20 percent of sanitation workers in Mumbai, and the majority of those hired to clean sewers, manholes, and septic tanks, are contracted.
Whether permanent or on contract, 90 percent of the employees are Dalits or belong to other marginalised communities.
Mortality rates among sanitation workers are high, some die long before retirement, succumbing to infectious illnesses, alcoholism, and other causes
One estimate suggests that the death rate of workers cleaning sewers is five times more than other urban Indians between the age of 15 and 59.
Many contract workers such as Zakir Hussain were forced to buy their own masks themselves due to the coronavirus scare. He purchased an N95 mask for Rs 100, which he plans to use for a month.
He claimed that municipal officials did not give him any safety instructions in the wake of the pandemic. "I started taking precautions after watching some videos on social media," said Hussian, 28, who works at the municipal ward in Colaba, south Mumbai.
In developed countries, Sundararaman from People's Health Movements pointed out, the risks to sanitation workers have been mitigated by following protocols such as mechanization, providing protective equipment, and enhancing social benefits like adequate compensation for injuries/disease.
"In India, these protocols are followed in the breach," he claimed.
On Monday, India was put under an unprecedented lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with states sealing their borders, shutting down public transport, and asking citizens to work from home.
But for many, working from home was not an option.
Chotalaxmi Naamdaar, a contract labourer who collects garbage in Fort in south Mumbai, was stopped by the police on the way to work. "They were asking for an ID, which we don't have, and asked us to return. That meant losing Rs 250 as my daily income," the 42-year-old told Al Jazeera.
In Thane, a neighbouring district of Mumbai, contract workers have been deployed to clean a building in Kasarvadavali, where 13 people are being kept under observation for COVID-19.
Bala Hivrale, vice president of the Maharashtra Municipal Kamgaar Union (MMKU), said the workers were not provided masks and gloves either.
"All these years they did not provide us protective gear. But for humanity's sake, this is an emergency. Why are they so callous towards us?" he told Al Jazeera.
