NHRC notice to Gujarat Govt over Surat septic tank deaths

The NHRC on Wednesday said it has issued a notice to the Gujarat Government and police authorities over reports that four workers died allegedly after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a septic tank at a jewellery manufacturing unit in Surat district.

They entered the tank to clean it “without following any safety protocol” and became victims of toxic fumes. The workers were taken to the hospital by the rescue team, where doctors declared them dead, the National Human Rights Commission said in a statement. The human rights panel said it has taken “suo motu cognisance of a media report that on June 7, four workers died while cleaning a septic tank at a jewellery manufacturing unit in Surat district of Gujarat”.

The commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises serious issues of violation of human rights.

Therefore, it has issued notices to Gujarat’s chief secretary and Surat’s commissioner of police, seeking a detailed report on it in two weeks. The report is expected to include the status of the investigation and compensation, if any, paid to the next of kin of the deceased workers, the statement said.

According to the media report, carried on June 8, the waste generated during the jewellery cleaning process is collected in the septic tank, it said.