Acting on the complaint of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Punjab unit, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes on Tuesday ordered the Punjab Government to immediately release a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of two deceased safai karamcharis, Aman Kumar and Prem Kumar Kaka, who were asphyxiated to death while cleaning a manhole in Patti, in Tarn Taran district, recently.
Punjab BJP state vice-president Harjit Singh Grewal, party’s state secretary Vineet Joshi, and party’s SC wing’s state president Majit Bali, on Tuesday met Commission’s regional director Raj Kumar at Chandigarh.
BJP leaders requested the Commission to immediately ask Patti Municipal Council or the Punjab Government to release compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the family of deceased in consonance with 2014 Supreme Court order.
They urged the Commission to take action against Executive Officer (EO) of Tarn Taran Municipal Committee or the concerned official who failed to provide protective gear to the two safai karamcharis. As per the Prohibition of Manual Scavenging Act, it is mandatory for employer to provide protective gear to Safai Karamcharis at the time of getting sewer or a septic tank cleaned.