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India
Nearly 350 Sanitation Workers Died While Cleaning Sewers, Septic Tanks In Last 5 Years Across India: Centre Informs
|The Centre revealed data on the year-wise deaths of manual scavengers; 2019 saw the highest number of fatalities at 116 in the last five years, followed by 2017, witnessing 92 deaths.
At least 347 sanitation workers have died across India in the last five years due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, with the highest number being recorded in Uttar Pradesh, the Centre informed Lok Sabha on Tuesday, July 20.
In response to a query raised by two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarians, Manoj Tiwari and Subrat Pathak, Union minister of social justice and empowerment Virendra Kumar stated, "The government takes a serious cognisance of the deaths occurring due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks," quoted Hindustan Times.
Number Of Deaths As Per Years & States
The Centre revealed data on the year-wise deaths of manual scavengers; 2019 saw the highest number of fatalities at 116 in the last five years, followed by 2017, witnessing 92 deaths.
The data also showed a state-wise breakdown of the reported numbers since 2017; wherein UP saw the highest number of deaths standing at 51, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi at 48 and 44, respectively.
The maximum fatalities were recorded in UP in 2019; 26 septic tank workers died. Moreover, in 2022 so far, 17 workers have lost their lives, the highest number coming from Tamil Nadu (5), followed by UP (4).
Measures Taken By Centre
Mentioning the steps taken by the Centre to curb such incidents, Virendra Kumar said that the constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) had developed an "integrated solution" for mechanised drain cleaning system for urban and local bodies with a population density of 5000 mm. It is expected to clean a blockage of up to 300 mm sewer line.
Besides, the government has also devised several schemes for manual scavengers, such as the National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE), Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers, Swachhta Udyami Yojana, and others.