Two workers died due to inhaling toxic gases while cleaning sewage tank.
New Delhi- Once again two workers died while cleaning the sewage treatment plant (STP) in the capital Delhi, and the shocking thing is that this incident happened in the premises of a private hospital. The relatives of the deceased workers and social workers have expressed anger over this incident and raised the question that till when will the poor laborers be forced to work in life-threatening conditions without safety equipment?
This incident took place at Shri Balaji Action Hospital in Paschim Vihar, West Delhi, where two workers died due to inhaling toxic gases while cleaning the sewage tank. The police have registered a case, but the question is whether such incidents will be stopped by just registering a case?
Death due to exposure to toxic gases
On Tuesday evening, July 8, two daily wage workers died after being exposed to toxic gases while cleaning a sewage treatment plant (STP) tank. The deceased have been identified as Brijesh, 26, and Vikram, 38, from Hardoi district in Uttar Pradesh. According to the police, both were employees of a private company that had been awarded the annual maintenance contract (AMC) of the STP of Shri Balaji Action Hospital.
Senior officials said the workers were only given disposable masks and no other safety or life-saving equipment. A case has been registered at the Paschim Vihar East police station under Section 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (BNS) and Section 9 of the Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
DCP (Outer) Sachin Sharma told Hindustan Times that action has been taken based on the medico-legal report of the hospital. “The doctor declared both the labourers dead. Initial investigation revealed that both of them fainted while cleaning the carbon filter, which was being done by the AMC contractor.” Though no one has been named in the FIR, a senior police officer said that investigation will also be conducted against the hospital administration, the private company and its supervisors.
Bezawada Wilson, a social activist working for a ban on manual scavenging, expressed deep anger over the incident and wrote on x: Two more deaths while cleaning sewage tanks in the national capital, this time in a hospital premises! Same old story – forced to work in poisonous gases without any safety equipment! It is the same sad tale of criminal administrative negligence and political apathy!
Under the Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, cleaning sewers, septic tanks or STPs without safety equipment is strictly prohibited. As per the law, employers, including contractors and institutions, can be held criminally responsible for such deaths, with a provision of jail and fine. Yet, due to negligence and weak enforcement of law, such incidents keep happening across the country.
Geetha Sunil Pillai
Courtesy: Hindi News