Deaths inside manholes: NGOs call for stricter adherence to ban, scrutiny on contractors

Delhi: Despite a nationwide ban on manual scavenging, workers continue to be hired for cleaning sewers often at great risk to their lives, the NGOs working for such workers’ rehabilitation said.

In a tragic incident earlier on Sunday, a 43-year-old worker died and two others were injured while cleaning a sewer in southeast Delhi’s New Friends Colony.

The victim, Panth Lal Chandra, was working on a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) sewer around 5.45 pm on Sunday when the accident occurred, police said in a statement earlier.

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Yogendra Jha, secretary of the NGO Centre for Social Security Action and Research (CSSAR), called for strict action against those hiring labourers for manual scavenging.

“Manual scavenging is banned in India, yet people continue to do this work without proper protective equipment, risking their lives just to support their families,” he said.

Jha said the government departments often outsource sanitation work to contractors, who, in turn, employ daily wage workers for sewer cleaning.

“The government must establish a dedicated committee to monitor such incidents and take necessary action to prevent further loss of life,” he added.

Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) Executive Director Sunil Kumar Aledia stressed the need for better enforcement of the ban.

“There are machines available for cleaning sewers, yet workers are still being sent into manholes to cut costs. Constant monitoring is essential because manual scavenging continues in the open despite the law,” he said.

Manual scavenging is banned and mandates rehabilitation for those engaged in the practice, according to the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

Emergency response teams, including the fire brigade and local police, pulled out the three workers from a manhole in an unconscious state on Sunday. Chandra was declared dead at the hospital.

The police have registered a case under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 7 and 9 of the Manual Scavenging Act.

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There was no immediate response from the Delhi Jal Board regarding the incident.

According to a Rajya Sabha data, approximately 377 people died in various states and Union Territories between 2019 and 2023 due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.

A report by the Press Information Bureau states that around 22 manual scavengers lost their lives in Delhi between 2019 and 2022.