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Nagpur: 2 Die in Sewage Chamber Horror
17 May
Summary
- Two manual scavengers died from suffocation in a sewage chamber.
- Workers lacked safety equipment and were ordered into the chamber.
- Contractor arrested for violating safety and rehabilitation acts.
Two manual scavengers lost their lives due to suffocation while cleaning a hazardous sewage chamber in MIDC Butibori on a Saturday. The incident underscores a disturbing violation of Supreme Court directives and the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act of 2013.
The victims, identified as Prashant Manuje and Rahul Madavi, along with a third worker, Suresh Patekar, entered the choked pipeline chamber under their contractor's orders. They were reportedly not provided with essential safety equipment such as gas masks or oxygen support, leading to their collapse from poisonous fumes.
Rescue teams extricated the trio from the chamber. While Manuje and Madavi were declared dead upon arrival at the hospital, Patekar remained in critical condition. The contractor, Gaurav Puri, has been arrested and charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the manual scavenging prohibition act.
This tragedy brings renewed focus to the persistent issue of manual scavenging in Nagpur and its industrial areas. Despite claims of mechanization by civic authorities, reports indicate that a significant portion of sewer and drain cleaning operations, nearly 65%, still rely on manual labor. Around 546 sanitary workers are reportedly engaged in manually de-choking sewer lines and drains across Nagpur, raising serious concerns over blatant violations of safety norms and apex court directives.
