Sweepers from the Valmiki and Dalit community of Gandhinagar have written to the President of India, Pratibha Patil, requesting her to permit them to commit mass suicide.

Deprived of proper wages, housing, sanitation and other basic amenities, about 35 sweepers have signed the petition for mass self-immolation.

There are 164 manual scavengers in the city. Out of these, 94 are on record, whereas 70 nameless labourers have been working in the capital city since 1992. These workers earn Rs 30 per day and work for 8-10 hours instead of the promised four hours of work.

After repeated appeals to the state government, the workers started a campaign in August this year to protest against the injustice being done to them.

As many as 94 labourers have been involved in this campaign, but it has had little impact on the government.

The workers have been toiling hard for years to manage two meals a day and educate their children.