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Flouting Madras HC ban, Metrowater uses men in sewers!
Posted on: 28/Jan/2015 4:40:51 PM
Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metrowater) continues to use men to get inside and clean sewerage lines and manholes without any protective gear. This is a gross violation of the Madras high court ban on manual scavenging and despite the deaths of at least 84 workers since the proscription of the practice in November 2008
The scenario
Around 10.30 AM on Monday, 26th January, Metrowater officials and contract workers stood in a circle around a manhole on Medavakkam Main Road. They were attempting to hide the fact that they had sent a man inside to remove a block in the sewerage line.
It was peak hour and the illegal activity in the middle of the road had brought vehicles to a halt. Traffic policemen, either ignorant or unmindful of the ban on manual scavenging tried to reroute vehicles and clear the traffic snarl at the busy junction where Medavakkam Main Road and West Karikalan Street meet.
The supervisors, clearly aware of the illegality of what they were doing, tried to get the job done in a hurry and shooed away anyone who ventured near the manhole. After a while, the worker, around 40 years old, surfaced from the manhole panting and sat on the rim, his legs dangling in the pit. When the supervisors asked him to hurry, he protested, telling them how tough it was inside the pit.
Explanation
Metrowater officials explained that said they drained sewage from the 15-foot-deep sewer line before sending the worker inside the manhole.
But labour rights activists say Metrowater sends workers into manholes without any precautions like checking for the presence of toxic gas, safety gear or first-aid at the site.
Statistics
A Narayanan has filed a PIL in the high court in 2008 to seek a ban on manual cleaning of sewers.
Statistics reveal that at least 84 workers have died after the High court ban in November 2008.
A total of 36 workers died in manholes and 48 others in septic tanks since the ban.
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