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NDTV
a day ago
- General
- NDTV
Delhi Public Works Department Posts Pictures Of Workers Entering Drain. Then Deletes
Armed with just a shovel, a group of labourers, with no protective gear of gloves, entered the sewers in Delhi's Rohini, in violation of the Supreme Court order. The images were posted on X by the Public Works Department (PWD), saying desilting work is underway. A backlash followed. Soon after, the post was deleted. Ahead of the monsoon, the PWD is clearing drains and removing obstructions from roads across Delhi to prevent waterlogging. The disturbing images, of labourers surrounded by filth, allowed the opposition to target the government. Despite Supreme Court directives and existing laws, manual scavenging continues in various parts of the country. The court has repeatedly stressed the importance of ensuring worker safety and prohibiting manual handling of waste. "The BJP government has always exploited Dalits and the poor. Look at how manual scavenging is being carried out. Legal action should be taken against this," Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj posted. Soon after, the PWD deleted the post. When NDTV questioned Chief Minister Rekha Gupta as to why manual scavenging was still taking place in Delhi despite Supreme Court directives, she said, "The government is preparing for the monsoon. In some areas, it's not possible to use machines, so labourers have been deployed. However, the Delhi government is working in accordance with court orders." A worker recently died while cleaning a drain linked to the Delhi Jal Board. According to Government of India data, 377 people died during drain cleaning between 2019 and 2023. In Delhi alone, 72 deaths occurred during cleaning activities between 2013 and 2024, as per the National Commission for Safai Karamchari. What was the Supreme Court's ruling? In a landmark 2014 ruling, the Supreme Court issued a series of directives to stop manual cleaning of waste and sewage. The court declared that no labourer should be made to clean dangerous sewers. Workers should not be sent into sewer lines without proper safety equipment, it said. The law provides for strict punishment against violators. The court instructed all states and union territories to implement the 2013 law aimed at ending the practice of manual scavenging and ensuring rehabilitation for the victims. While the case was pending in the Supreme Court, the central government enacted the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The petitioners demanded protection of their right to life and equality.
Indian Express
a day 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.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Tamil Nadu govt ready to assist 'Madrasi Camp' residents in Delhi if they choose to return
A resident reacts during a demolition drive at Madrasi Camp following court demolition orders in New Delhi on Sunday CHENNAI: If residents of Delhi's 'Madrasi Camp', who are natives of Tamil Nadu (TN), choose to return to their home districts, necessary assistance shall be extended to them, the TN govt said on Sunday. A demolition was carried out at Madrasi Camp in south Delhi's Jangpura on Sunday to remove illegal settlements. The action follows Delhi high court 's directive to remove slums along the Barapullah drain. TN govt said all legal avenues available to them have now been exhausted. "Comprehensive support, including assistance for livelihood and other essential needs, will be extended to them. This assistance will be facilitated through the offices of the concerned district collectors to ensure timely and effective implementation," the state govt said, in an official release. Numerous occupants of the unauthorised settlement, predominantly inhabited by people from Tamil Nadu, expressed their opposition to the clearance. According to the govt, the Madrasi Camp comprises 370 slum dwellings and is predominantly inhabited by people of Tamil Nadu origin. Delhi high court had said the camp was an unauthorised encroachment on the bank of the Barapullah drain. "This has led to obstruction and blockage of the drain, causing significant waterlogging in the surrounding areas, especially during the monsoon season." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Descubra ofertas de voos imperdíveis Voos | Anúncios de Pesquisa Saiba Mais Undo Accordingly, the court directed that eligible residents be rehabilitated and relocated under the provisions of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) Act and the Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015. In compliance with the directions of the court, a survey was undertaken by the Eligibility Determination Committee to assess the eligibility of all residents for rehabilitation and relocation. Govt authorities posted a list of qualified families on the settlement walls on April 12. Of the 370 families, around 190 met the eligibility criteria. These beneficiaries were allotted residential units under the Economically Weaker Section category of the DDA in Narela. The court set a timeline for residents to vacate the camp between May 20 and 31, with demolition scheduled to commence from June 1. "As per the instructions of the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi has been tasked with actively facilitating and overseeing coordination efforts. Reaffirming its unwavering commitment to the welfare of people of Tamil Nadu origin residing outside the state, the govt of Tamil Nadu is in active coordination with the residents of Madrasi Camp to ensure that every possible support is extended to them without delay," the govt said. Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi state president Saurabh Bharadwaj pointed out that the demolition came immediately after the Delhi CM claimed during an event to celebrate 100 days of BJP in govt that not a single jhuggi would be touched. "Within 24 hours of CM Rekha Gupta's promise, bulldozers arrived at Barapullah's Madrasi Camp and flattened hundreds of homes," he said.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Delhi: BJP repackaged our clinics as Arogya Mandirs, says AAP
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday responded to the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) claim of having built 31 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs as a key achievement during its first 100 days in power, saying these were actually repackaged Mohalla Clinics established under the AAP government. The AAP's Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the Ayushman Arogya Mandir in Chirag Delhi in south Delhi, which the BJP said was built in the last 100 days, is actually a dispensary built by the AAP. 'For the last five years, the BJP made grandiose claims that if they came to power, the central government would give massive funds. But in reality, they've just taken old Mohalla Clinics, painted them, renamed them as 'Ayushman Arogya Mandirs', and now they are selling that as their achievement. The BJP has no intention of doing any real work. They are merely repainting and repackaging the initiatives done by the AAP. Earlier people used to receive proper medicines in these clinics. Now, under the BJP's so-called Ayushman Arogya Mandir model, even basic medicines are not available,' said Bharadwaj. Earlier in the day, the AAP said that a group of women party workers were detained by police outside Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium when they protested against the government for not rolling out the ₹2,500 monthly scheme for women. In a post on X, the AAP said, 'Can women in Delhi no longer even ask for their rights? Chief minister Rekha Gupta, today when the women of Delhi came to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to ask you about their ₹2,500, your Delhi Police responded with brutality. If you never intended to fulfil your promise, why did you make it in the first place? You will not be able to silence the voices of Delhi's women through the might of your police.' AAP women's wing president Sarika Chaudhary said, 'The BJP had promised ₹2,500 to Delhi women in its government's first cabinet meeting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself said during a rally that Delhi's women would receive ₹2,500. Now the BJP is going back on its word. Not a single woman in Delhi has received the ₹2,500 yet. The BJP has made a fool of the women of Delhi.' In response, deputy commissioner of police (south) Ankit Chauhan said that 30 women workers of the AAP were detained. 'We detained them because they were organising a protest without taking a formal permission for the same. They were removed, taken to a police station, where they were let go,' said Chauhan. Hitting back at the AAP, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, 'The AAP was an AAPda when in power, and remains an AAPda in opposition. While in power, they deceived the women of Delhi and Punjab in the name of the women's financial assistance scheme and today they continue to mislead the public. The BJP government will soon begin disbursing the financial assistance to women. The government has already made a provision for ₹5,100 crore for the scheme in the budget.'
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
AAP, Congress accuse BJP govt. of reneging on key electoral promises after 100 days of staying in power
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Delhi of 'backtracking' on key poll promises like ₹2,500 monthly support for women, permanent jobs for bus marshals, and rolling back private school fee hikes, in its first 100 days in power. 'All they have done is dismantle AAP's welfare schemes,' AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said, citing the alleged halting of the Farishtey scheme under which accident victims were treated free of cost at private hospitals, and the closure of Mohalla Clinics. 'They promised free LPG cylinders during Holi and Deepavali. Holi is over, and not one free cylinder has been distributed. Instead of lowering prices to ₹500 as promised, they have hiked them by ₹50,' he said. In a letter to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Mr. Bharadwaj said AAP MLAs had compiled a '100-day report card' after speaking with Delhi residents. 'The public is suffering. Power cuts are frequent, electricity prices have surged, school fees are rising arbitrarily, and water supply is deteriorating,' he said. Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav echoed the criticism, and said, 'A green and healthy Delhi under Sheila Dikshit was made sick in AAP's first term, sent to the ICU in the second, and now the BJP has put it on a ventilator within 100 days.' In response, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, 'The previous AAP government announced a women pension scheme while presenting the 2024-25 budget in Delhi, but never implemented it.'
