Comfort fit for conservancy workers: how three Indian cities are getting the ‘measurements’ right

In 2021, when the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs urged all urban local bodies to adopt the new design standards in allotting uniforms to sanitation workers, Indore Municipal Corporation sought an exception.

It was not a move of defiance, but one of concern, concern for its safai mitras, as its conservancy workers are called. More than fitting a design standard for uniform, it wanted uniform that “fit” the conservancy workers, making them feel comfortable.