India News | Gujarat: Cong Cites Deaths of Conservancy Workers While Cleaning Sewer Lines, Asks for End to Practice

Ahmedabad, Apr 6 (PTI) The Gujarat Congress on Thursday cited recent incidents of deaths of workers involved in cleaning of sewer lines and sought an end to the practice by deploying technology.

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Three 'safai kamdars' (conservancy workers) have died in Bharuch, two in Umargam in Valsad and two in Rajkot in the last 15 days after they entered through manholes to clean sewer lines, Congress spokesperson Hiren Banker told reporters.

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"We demand that such inhuman practices should immediately stop. The Congress-led UPA government had brought an Act against manual scavenging, but it is not being implemented in Gujarat," he said.

"Technology is available to clean sewer lines but instead of deploying it authorities are using people to enter underground gutters for cleaning. There is a provision of providing safety gear to safai kamdars to protect them from poisonous gases in sewer lines. But these provisions are not being followed," he said.

There are 105 families that are involved in manual cleaning of sewer lines and they must be given alternate employment so that this inhuman practice can be stopped forever, Banker said.

"As per the figures we have received, in the last three decades 136 safai kamdars have died in Gujarat when they went to clean sewerage lines. Gujarat is second in the country in the number of such deaths," he said.

The issue of such deaths was recently discussed in the state Assembly.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)