Tragic death of sanitation workers highlights the horrors of manual scavenging
Two days ago in the heart of south Delhi, one of India’s richest areas, three labourers died due to asphyxiation from poisonous gases while in the process of cleaning a drain. This is not an isolated incident. Barely a month ago, four labourers died while cleaning a septic tank in Ghitorni area of the capital city, where there are several farmhouses of India’s 0.1 per cent. Another three lost lives while cleaning up a manhole in Bengaluru. That such incidents happen in the 21st century in India, showcases that even after years of legislation and commentary on the ills of manual scavenging, the practice continues in the country and claims lives.
Of course, this is not an issue that will be debated ad nauseum on the English television news channels. Because those who died were inconsequential, both to the anchors and sadly, the viewers of such channels and this is a horrible reflection on the Indian society. It is a fact that several Indian cities lack sewage systems. And one should be thankful that much of Delhi has a sewage network. But sewage systems are often overstretched, thanks to the rapidly increasing urban population, which leads to system breakages. During the monsoon season, when roadside trash clogs, drainage and sewage systems blockages occur. In Delhi, with a multitude of agencies being responsible for different sewers, there has been a callous lack of responsibility for cleaning, something that might have had a role to play in the death of these three labourers. Indeed, most global cities have moved to much higher levels of mechanisation and automation when it comes to the down and dirty of sewers and drains.
Undoubtedly, cities such as Delhi have invested in modern sewer cleaning technologies, which are sometimes visible on the roads but that is clearly not enough to cope with the situation. India has an Urban Development Ministry, albeit a full-time Minister as of now, and while this Ministry tries to put ‘smart cities’ into practice, funds have to be made available to the municipalities to develop sewer networks and to connect septic tanks to main lines as well as to invest in proper modern cleaning systems. And if workers must be sent into sewers and drains because there is no alternative but human intervention, they must be provided with proper safety apparatus, not just ropes to escape but also breathing mechanisms and clothing to prevent infection and death. And most importantly, responsibility has to be fixed on bureaucrats, municipalities, State and Central Governments
for such accidents. Fatalities from sewer cleanings should not become a regular occurrence in Indian cities. Because as long as we consider life to be ‘cheap’ and the income disparity in India persists, primarily in the value of a life, we cannot and should not aspire to be a modern country.