Manual scavenging: Toxic fumes kill two in Delhi’s Pillanji.

“To rescue them, another labourer went inside the sewer. Later, the three of them were taken out.

Ujwal Jalali 

NEW DELHI: Two labourers, who were asked to remove garbage from a gutter in southwest Delhi, died due to the possible inhalation of toxic fumes inside, while another person who went inside to save them is currently hospitalised, an official said on Wednesday.

The deceased were identified as Babundra Kumar Singh (29), a resident of Gopal Ganj in Bihar, and Ramasre (41), a resident of Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh.

According to DCP (southwest) Surender Choudhary, cops at Sarojini Nagar police station received a PCR call on October 8 about a building collapse. It said some labourers are trapped under the debris.

However, when the station house officer reached the spot at National Buildings Construction Corporation’s construction site at Pillanji village, it was revealed that two labourers had been removing garbage from a gutter, which was not in use anymore, when they became unconscious.

“To rescue them, another labourer went inside the sewer. Later, the three of them were taken out. Two of the labourers were shifted to the hospital by an ambulance of VCL construction company, while the third one was sent through an emergency response vehicle of the police station to the AIIMS Trauma Centre,” the DCP said.

Among the three injured, Babundra Kumar and Ramasre died during the treatment while the third injured, Shrinath Soren (28), a native of West Bengal, is still receiving treatment at Diyos Hospital in Safdarjung Enclave.

The officer said they have registered an FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and a thorough investigation is being carried out. Ramasre’s post-mortem has been conducted and his body was handed over to the family. An investigation is on, the official added.

As per data shared by the Central government in August this year, as many as 453 people have died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks since 2014 even as 732 of India’s 766 districts declared themselves free from manual scavenging.

This progress was highlighted by Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

There had been seven sewer deaths in Delhi in 2022, two in 2021, three in 2020, two in 2019.

Courtesy: New Indian Express

Note: This news is originally published on newindianexpress.com and is used only for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially for human rights.