Latest news with #ProhibitionofEmploymentasManualScavengersandtheirRehabilitationAct
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Health
- Indian Express
‘Machines don't work everywhere': CM as PWD posts pics of labourers cleaning drain without safety gear
A social media post put up by the Public Works Department (PWD) on its official X handle on Tuesday, showing labourers waist-deep in a stormwater drain while carrying out desilting work on a road in North West Delhi's Rohini, has triggered criticism from various quarters. In the pictures posted by the PWD, eight labourers were seen at the site. Four of them were inside a drain, scooping out garbage and silt without wearing shirts or proper safety gear like boots, gloves, and masks for protection. Responding to the controversy, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said, 'Look, every drain has its own situation. Machines don't work everywhere, and people don't work everywhere either. There may be places where machines can't reach. Right now, the government's target is to ensure that all drains are completely cleaned, and the work is being carried out with full attention to the court's guidelines.' The post, which sparked the row, has now been deleted, and officials said that a PWD junior engineer has been placed under suspension. Lashing out at the ruling party, AAP Delhi convenor Saurabh Bharadwaj tagged the Delhi Police Commissioner in his post on X and alleged that manual scavenging, which is illegal in India, was being carried out at the site. 'The BJP government has always exploited the Dalits and the poor. See how manual scavenging is being done. Legal action should be taken against them @CPDelhi.' As per the PWD post, in which the CM and PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh were also tagged, the labourers were working on Road number 41A, Rohini. When asked about manual scavenging claims, a senior PWD official said that the drains falling under its jurisdiction are stormwater drains where only rainwater enters. 'Manual scavenging is when a worker is entering the sewer, which is filled with human wastes and excreta…But PWD drains are stormwater drains, which only carry out rainwater, and the department uses machines for desilting work. In these areas, machines cannot enter due to narrow lanes. Workers wearing proper safety gear are deployed,' said the official. He said the PWD took cognizance of the pictures posted on its handle and has taken action against the junior engineer of that area. 'We saw that workers were not wearing any safety gear… not even gloves…Seeing the seriousness of the matter, we have placed the JE concerned under suspension and have also issued warning orders to all the engineers in this regard…They have also been asked to ensure that the workers are equipped with proper gear,' said the official. Manual scavenging is the practice of removing human excreta by hand from sewers or septic tanks. India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR). Hundreds of manual scavengers have died in the past decade after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning sewers and septic tanks. In 2013, the definition of manual scavengers was also broadened to include people employed to clean septic tanks, ditches, or railway tracks. The Act recognises manual scavenging as a 'dehumanising practice,' and cites a need to 'correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered by the manual scavengers'. However, in Delhi, PWD has been blaming the MCD for the illegal puncturing of stormwater drains over the years, especially during monsoon, when waterlogging occurs. This makes the implementation of the Act difficult, as per officials. PWD manages about 2,100 km of stormwater drains and manages 12,892 small drains spread over around 6,067 km. These merge with big drains like Najafgarh and Barapullah drain, which come under the Irrigation and Flood Control Department (I&FC), and as some big drains cannot be tapped, the untreated water eventually flows into Yamuna. As part of the pre-monsoon drive to prevent waterlogging, the desilting work is being carried out by the PWD on a large scale across the city. The department had earlier posted pictures of several other areas like Munirka, Mangolpuri, Safdarjung enclave, Mayur Vihar, IIT Delhi, Lajpat Nagar, Jangpura, New Friends Colony, and several other locations where workers are seen inside the drains cleaning it. Last month, L-G VK Saxena and the CM visited a site in South Delhi's Barapullah where workers were cleaning drains without wearing any safety gear.
New Indian Express
29-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Tamil Nadu woman seeks Rs 30 lakh compensation for husband's death in septic tank
MADURAI: The vacation bench of the Madurai Bench of Madras HC on Wednesday sought response from the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department and the Southern Railway, on a petition filed by a woman seeking Rs 30 lakh compensation for the death of her husband allegedly while cleaning a septic tank at the Rameswaram railway station in November 2024. The petitioner B Pathampriyal of Sivaganga, belonging to Arunthathiyar community and has two kids, stated on November 16, 2024, her husband Balu had gone to clean the septic tank in Rameswaram railway station. She alleged authorities made him to clean the tank without providing him safety gear. She said her husband had fainted and was rushed to the Rameswaram GH, where he was declared dead, she added. Claiming that her husband died due to the negligence of railway authorities, she sought criminal and departmental action against the authorities and contractors concerned, besides compensation and other assistance under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 20 13. Justice L Victoria Gowri, who heard the plea, issued notice to authorities and adjourned the case to June 3.
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Time of India
HC seeks replies from state, rlys on woman's plea for relief
1 2 Madurai: Madras high court on Wednesday directed the state and Southern Railway authorities to file a counter on a plea by a woman seeking compensation for the death of her husband while cleaning the septic tank at the construction site of a new railway building in Rameswaram in Nov 2024. Justice L Victoria Gowri passed the order while hearing the petition filed by B Pathampriyal of Sivaganga district. The petitioner stated that her husband, Balu, was a daily wager who took up cleaning jobs for his livelihood. She mentioned that a person named Muniyaswamy took her husband for construction work for a new railway building in Rameswaram. She claimed that the railway authorities forced her husband to clean a septic tank at the site on Nov 16, 2024. The same day Muniyaswamy called her and informed that Balu died while cleaning the tank. The Rameswaram town police registered a case, but there was no progress in the investigation. Since her husband died due to the negligence of officials who failed to provide any safety equipment to clean the tank, she sought compensation. However, the same was not considered. Hence, she moved court seeking a direction to the authorities for compensation under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, and also sought to initiate action against the erring officials.
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Indian Express
Delhi: Regulatory oversight, informal work arrangements flagged in report on deaths of sanitation workers
Deaths of sanitation workers during hazardous sewer and septic tank cleaning operations have continued unabated across India despite a ban on manual scavenging and stringent legal provisions. Their plight was in focus on Friday during a workshop at the Constitution Club of India in Delhi, where rights groups, worker unions, and researchers came together to present a new fact-finding report. The report, compiled and released by the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM), sheds a spotlight on a series of investigations into recent sanitation worker fatalities across urban and rural areas. One of the most recent cases documented was the death of two sanitation workers at a shopping mall in West Delhi earlier this year. The workers were reportedly hired by a private contractor to clean a sewage chamber without any safety gear or training. The report noted that no timely emergency response was available at the site, and rescue efforts were delayed. Such incidents were not isolated, underlined the report, which included multiple case studies from Delhi-NCR — all pointing to a pattern of hazardous working conditions, informal subcontracting arrangements, and poor regulatory oversight. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, bans hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, but the DASAM report showed that the practice continued under informal arrangements. Many workers were hired on a daily wage or contract basis through layers of subcontracting, with no job security, insurance, or safety protocol, as per the findings. Activists called for revamping data collection mechanisms, noting that the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) and local authorities often underreported cases or provided incomplete information. The report recommends better coordination between police, civic bodies, and labour departments to ensure accountability and justice Mohsina, a member of DASAM involved in the documentation process, said that systemic neglect by both municipal bodies and enforcement agencies lay at the heart of the problem. 'Apathy by government agencies as well as police officials had been evident during the follow-up of the incidents. While a few cases did not yield an FIR, some others were claimed to be pending because of incomplete investigations,' she said. The report noted that in many cases, contractors denied formal employment ties, which hampered the legal process and delayed compensation. Hemlata Kansotia, National Convenor, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRSAW), who has been working on sanitation workers' rights, pointed out that the problem extended beyond fatalities. 'Apart from deaths, health-related complications due to prolonged exposure to harmful gases remained undocumented,' she said, noting that such chronic issues were rarely covered in official reports. 'There was also a gap in the law to tackle this issue,' she added. Kansotia pointed to an urban bias in public perception: 'In cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, the general notion was that to an extent the problem was resolved, but we were only seeing the visible issues in the city… Apart from this, septic tank-related cases in small cities and villages were invisibilised.' Dharmendra Bhati, President, Municipal Workers Lal Janda Union, emphasised the need for systemic change within public utility bodies. 'Contractual workers needed to be made part of the regular employees and included in the payroll in the Delhi Jal Board,' he said, adding that without formal inclusion, workers remained vulnerable to exploitation and unsafe assignments. The issue also had deep socio-cultural and psychological dimensions. Seema Mathur, professor at Delhi University, pointed out that 'identity' — especially caste and gender — played a key role in how sanitation workers were treated. 'The lack of social security and physiological nuances of the nature of work made it difficult for the female and male workers to affect their daily life,' she said, referring to the often-overlooked psychological toll of such hazardous and stigmatised work. Dr. Sunilam, a veteran social activist, said that despite their essential role, sanitation workers were not prioritised in policymaking. 'The problem persisted due to no equipment, funds or priority given to the sanitation workers and their job,' he said. Highlighting their role during crises, he added, 'It was the farmers and the sanitation workers who were in the forefront, who did not shy away during the pandemic. Yet the public, who did not even step out during such calamities, ostracised them. The inherent solution lay in setting priorities and providing dignity.' He further criticised the prevailing approach to sanitation worker deaths, calling it reactionary. 'In India, the compensation following the death of a sanitation worker was talked about, but nobody talked about how to prevent such deaths in the first place… indicating an indifferent approach.'
India Today
21-05-2025
- India Today
Third Dalit worker dies in manual scavenging tragedy in Tamil Nadu's dyeing factory
The death toll in a manual scavenging tragedy in Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur, has risen to three, after another person, identified as Hari Krishnan, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. He was one of the four Dalit men who were hospitalised following exposure to toxic gas in a sewage other two, who died of asphyxiation on Monday, were identified as Saravanan and Venugopal. A fourth man, Chinnaswamy, is currently undergoing treatment at a private to police in Tiruppur, five men were engaged to clean a seven-foot-deep sewage tank at a private dyeing factory in Karaipudur without any protective gear. The cleaning operation turned fatal when the workers inhaled toxic methane gas released from the tank. The tragedy unfolded within seconds, with the men losing consciousness almost immediately after entering the confined space. Despite swift medical attention, Saravanan and Venugopal were declared dead upon arrival at the hospital on Monday. With Hari Krishnan's passing, the incident has now claimed three initial FIR has been registered against the factory owner Naveen, manager Dhanabal, supervisor Balasubramaniam and vehicle owner accused have been booked under sections 125A (endangering life) and 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, section 3(2)(v) (serious offences) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and section 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, which prohibits the engagement of anyone for the cleaning of sewers and septic IN THIS STORY#Tamil Nadu
