Worker dies while cleaning sewer, contractor booked

A 21-year old sanitation worker, employed by a private contractor of the Greater Noida authority, was killed Thursday after stepping into a sewer to clean it.

According to police, the victim, Krishna (identified by a single name), who lived in Gharbara village of Greater Noida, was sent into the sewer in Surajpur area, without any gear or safety equipment, to clean it.

When Krishna didn’t respond for a long time, a fire brigade was called in to rescue him.

A firefighter went down the sewer line wearing a breathing apparatus to retrieve Krishna, who was hauled out after a 40 minute operation, police said.

Krishna was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead, the police said.

“The sewer was very narrow and about 30 to 40 foot deep and it took around 40 minutes for our personnel to rescue the unconscious man, who seemed to have some life in him at that time. Krishna was wearing no gear or safety equipment; he only had a pair of shorts and a vest on. There was poisonous gases in the sewer and it is hazardous to work in it without any safety gear; even our firefighters had to wear breathing apparatuses before going in,” said Jitendra Kumar, fire station officer, Greater Noida.

The police later registered an FIR under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code against Neeraj Bhati, the authority’s contractor and Jai Prakash, the site in-charge.

“The victim was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. He must have suffocated on the poisonous gases inside the gutter. He was sent down to clean the sewer line manually without any safety equipment to reinstate the flow. We have registered an FIR against the private contractor and the site in-charge, and are waiting for the post-mortem report,” said Ajay Kumar, the station house officer of Surajpur police station.

Manual scavenging -- including manually cleaning of sewers, septic tanks and others -- is banned under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

Officials at the authority, meanwhile, said they have ordered an inquiry into the matter.

“We had earlier made it very clear that no worker would be sent down a sewer line without safety gear. We had also provided all protective gear and oxygen masks. In this case, it seems that the directions were violated by the private contractor. The official concerned has filed an FIR. However, the work Krishna was asked to do does not amount to manual scavenging,” said Narendra Bhooshan, CEO, Greater Noida authority.

Activists differed with him. “This is a clear case of manual scavenging. An act that involves anyone manually cleaning a sewer or septic tank that has human excreta in it qualify as manual scavenging and is, hence, prohibited, but unfortunately, there is less awareness about this and the practise continues across India, including in Delhi,” said Bezwada Wilson, the national convener of Safai Karamchari Aandolan — a human rights organisation campaigning for the eradication of manual scavenging.

A total of 340 people have died while cleaning sewers in the past five years (till December 31, 2020) in the country of which Uttar Pradesh, at 52, accounts for the highest number of deaths, Ramdas Athawale, minister of state for social justice and empowerment, had informed Parliament in February 2021.

Sewer was narrow, 30-40 foot deep; it took 40 minutes for our men to rescue Krishna, who was barely alive at that time. He had no safety gear on. JITENDRA KUMAR, fire station officer, Greater Noida