A sanitation worker with Greater Chennai Corporation, *Yamini K begins her day at 5.30am, but during the monsoon, her day begins much earlier. She is up at 4am to cook for her family, then rolls up her trousers to her knees, covers her head with a plastic bag, and carries an umbrella that she struggles to control in the strong winds. “When we work in the rain, we have to fight hoardings flying about in the wind, rising sewage and bags of waste. We stand eight hours in water, sometimes with insects and snakes around us. We still have to work; there’s no choice,” she says. *Yamini recalls the 2016 Vardah cyclone vividly. “There was no electricity, trees were falling and metal sheets were flying through the streets. At the same time, I had no way to buy food for my children. My husband ha

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