THE day of October 2, 2007, is important for rural sanitation workers in the state. The then Congress government appointed these employees on the same day through gram panchayats on a monthly honorarium of Rs 3,525 to keep the villages clean and tidy. The number of these employees in the state is about 11,000. The government gave the right to pay an honorarium to the gram panchayats, with this decision of the government, the foundation of forced labour and harassment was laid.