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
Fantastic explanation
Uday Kotak, one of the most successful bankers of the country and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra B...
Recently posted . 864 views . 4 min read
India's long freedom struggle is etched in history forever.
Recently posted . 617 views . 0 min read
Train 18 can travel at a speed of 160 kmph as against 130 kmph of Shatabdi and would cut travel time by around 15 per cent.
Recently posted . 772 views . 1 min read
If the new labour codes are implemented, there's a likelihood that employees in India may be able to enjoy a four-day workweek from next year, as opposed to the...
Recently posted . 942 views . 2 min read
Passengers will be able to book Tejas Express train tickets 15 days prior to their journey and that ITCTC may take dynamic fare and pricing model for ticket charges...
Recently posted . 542 views . 1 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
Parliament had approved amendments to the Aadhaar and other laws earlier this month wherein the unique identification can be used on a voluntary basis for opening b...
Recently posted. 600 views . 1 min read
Extending home-based workers the same rights and benefits as other workers could transform women’s work in India.
Recently posted. 528 views . 1 min read
Jammu: The security forces on Wednesday launched a noteworthy search and combing operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian taking after inputs about a group of u...
Recently posted. 536 views . 13 min read
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 267 views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views . 26 min read
Recently posted . 1K views . 20 min read
New Delhi: Congress VP Rahul Gandhi is well on the way to visit Madhya Pradesh`s Mandsaur on Wednesday, where 5 farmers were killed in police terminating.
...
Recently posted. 655 views . 12 min read
Delhi is considered unsafe for women because of increasing number of cases associated with crime against women. However, many are trying to change this image of Del...
Recently posted. 706 views . 1 min read