Why India’s sanitation workers are nobody’s priority
Friday, September 21, 2018 IST
One big obstacle before evolving policies for the welfare of sewage and septic tank workers is lack of data. There are no numbers available on those employed in sewer and septic tank cleaning as opposed to those engaged in the relatively less hazardous occupation of cleaning dry latrines, open drains, and single pit toilets
Over the past seven days, six people lost their lives in the national capital region while cleaning sewers after inhaling toxic gases, says the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK), a statutory body set up by an Act of Parliament for the welfare of sanitation workers. Clearly, the law banning employment of human labour to clean sewage tanks is toothless. In theory, no person, local authority or agency can hire people for hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. The Employment of Manual Scavenging and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, was amended in 2013 to include a ban on employing or engaging people to clean sewer and septic tanks. But according to a reply by the central Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in the Lok Sabha in December last year, more than 300 people died due to asphyxiation while working in septic tanks in 2017 alone.
NCSK founder and Magsaysay award winner, Bezwada Wilson, says one big obstacle before evolving policies for the welfare of sewage and septic tank workers is the lack of credible data. There are no official numbers available on those employed in sewer and septic tank cleaning as opposed to those engaged in the relatively less hazardous cleaning of dry latrines, open drains and single pit toilets. Also, since most of those employed to do the cleaning of septic tanks are hired on a casual basis, contractors seldom bother to follow safety norms or provide gas masks, safety harness belts and helmets to them. The law enjoins upon the government to provide Rs 10 lakh to the families of those who die inside sewers. However, data presented by the Central Monitoring Committee in 2017 said only seven states had paid compensation for such deaths in the past 25 years.
Experts say the biggest reason why the mechanised cleaning of septic tanks, the prescribed norm, remains only on paper, is lax implementation by enforcement agencies, whether it is the inspectors of civic bodies in the cities or magistrates and district collectors in rural India. If the law on manual cleaning of sewers is to be effective, the penalties — less than 10 arrests have been made across the country according to Mr Wilson and the first information report rarely reaches the charge-sheet stage — have to be stricter and even-handed. Casual workers who endanger their lives for as little as Rs 300 to clean septic tanks don’t seem to be a priority either with the law enforcement agencies or politicians. This is a blot on the record of a country that boasts the largest public cleanliness programme in the world.
Related Topics
Related News & Articles
The world’s tallest statue, which towers over the Narmada river in western India, cost a mammoth $430 million (Rs3,000 crore) to build. The 182-metre struct...
Recently posted . 736 views . 2 min read
OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal was just 18 when he came up with the idea. Within just a few years, OYO surpassed the valuation of India’s oldest hotel company.<...
Recently posted . 733 views . 1 min read
It’s easy to sing paeans to the revolutionaries and then declare every single stadium, international airport and university after one family – the Neh...
Recently posted . 704 views . 2 min read
Baffled at not having the option to track down the right sort of work, a large number of Indians, especially ladies, are leaving the workforce totally
Recently posted . 564 views . 1 min read
New Delhi: Signaling a move in India's foreign policy calculus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday set out on a two-country visit beginning from Israel ami...
Recently posted . 661 views . 42 min read
Trending News & Articles
While the Uttarakhand High Court has asked to block 857 websites, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) found 30 portals without any pornographic content.
...
Recently posted . 61K views . 1 min read
The four boys as well as five school officials, including the director and principal, were arrested after the incident. The minors were presented before the Juvenil...
Recently posted . 8K views . 1 min read
Rahul was having an Italian passport and was carrying suitcase full of dollars. Some say it was about was it $2 million.
Rahul and his girl friend was th...
Recently posted . 7K views . 7 min read
True – Tr...
Recently posted . 6K views . 83 min read
More in National
There would be no transaction charges for a period of three months for the new train ticket booking facility.
Recently posted. 604 views . 0 min read
HIGHLIGHTS
-- FaceApp has become a viral sensation virtually overnight
-- The pho...
Recently posted. 614 views . 2 min read
"If the Muslim population continued to grow at the same pace, India will become an Islamic country by 2027. It's a conspiracy of the Muslim community. Th...
Recently posted. 555 views . 1 min read
Recently posted . 946 views
Recently posted . 924 views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views . 126 min read
Recently posted . 1K views . 31 min read
E-commerce firm Snapdeal on Monday terminated talks for a takeover by larger rival Flipkart, saying it will “pursue an independent path” to continue its...
Recently posted. 659 views . 13 min read
The founder of Virgin Group signed a preliminary agreement on Sunday in Mumbai for a broad hyperloop framework, the company said in a statement. A demonstration tra...
Recently posted. 570 views . 2 min read