11 sanitation workers died in Gujarat in 2 years, and five more deaths in Bharuch and Rajkot.
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Two sanitation workers died while cleaning a drain in Bharuch, Gujarat, on 3rd April, adding to a grim statistic of 11 such deaths in the state over the last two years. The recent incident occurred when three workers were cleaning the drain and inhaled toxic gas. This tragedy comes just weeks after a similar incident in Rajkot where a sanitation worker and contractor died while cleaning a sewer.
According to police officials, the drain where the incident occurred falls under the jurisdiction of the Dahej Gram Panchayat. Three workers were cleaning the drain when three of them inhaled the toxic gas, and died on the spot. The bodies have been sent for postmortem to the government hospital in Bharuch. The police have assured that appropriate legal action will be taken. According to the report of Hindustan live.
Recently, a similar incident occurred in Rajkot where a sanitation worker and a contractor died while cleaning a sewer. The worker was identified as Mehul Mehda, who was cleaning the underground sewer at the Samrat Industrial Area when he was overcome by toxic gas. The contractor, Afzal Kukur, entered the sewer to rescue him but also became unconscious due to the toxic gas.
The Gujarat government had informed the state assembly last month that 11 sanitation workers had died in different parts of the state while cleaning drains and sewers over the past two years.
Despite the ban on manual scavenging, the practice continues to persist in many parts of India, claiming the lives of numerous sanitation workers every year.
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