No check on manual scavenging in city

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 10

Despite manual scavenging having been prohibited under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2103, sewer men of the Municipal Corporation and private workers are often ‘forced’ to clean sewers and septic tanks manually and that too without any safety gear.

Two men, who were not wearing any safety gear, according to the police, died from asphyxiation while cleaning sewers at Grand Marian Hotel on Dugri Road yesterday.

Though the act prohibits “hazardous cleaning”, sewer men are commonly seen cleaning sewers without wearing any safety kits in the city where choked sewers are one the major issues.

The various unions of sewer men and safai karamcharis have been accusing the civic body as well as the administration of failing to ensure implantation of the Act in a rightful manner.

“Our organisation had moved the Supreme Court against manual scavenging in the country. The Supreme Court had ordered the states to abolish manual scavenging in 2014. However, the orders are being violated by the civic body as well as by the private sector. The sewer men and private workers are commonly forced to enter manholes and septic tanks. The task should be carried out with machines,” said Subhash Desawer, state convener of the Safai Karamchari Andolan.

“According to official information, 31 sewer men have died in the state while cleaning sewers since 1993. The fact is that many more persons have lost their lives while cleaning sewers manually. Whenever any sewer man dies, the authorities concerned assure workers that they will take necessary steps, but nothing is done in this regard. The authorities should ensure enforcement of the ban on manual scavenging,” he added.

A contractual sewer man said: “We work without any safety gear. Sewage enters into our mouth while cleaning sewers. Broken glasses or sharp things injure us. We generally suffer from skin irritation. We remove our clothes and shoes before entering manholes to avoid stains as we can’t afford new clothes and shoes every time we clean a sewer.”

Following the orders of the Supreme Court, the MC in 2015 gave compensation worth Rs 10 lakh to families of those sewer men who died while cleaning sewers. There are more than 1,500 regular as well as contractual sewer men working under the local MC. 

Surinder Kalyan, national president of the Rashtriya Safai Karamchari Sangh, said: “Many sewer men have lost their lives due to asphyxiation in the past years. Sewer men are still forced to enter manholes without any protection. It is the responsibility of the civic body to ensure their safety.”