New Delhi: Social activists have decried the Indian government’s denial of deaths from manual scavenging.
Sanjeev Kumar, leader of an NGO working for the rights of Dalits and Tribals, says that the number of death from manual scavenging is anyway underreported and the government denying it completely is highly condemnable.
“In Delhi alone, there have been so many such deaths. It is very sad that the government is not acknowledging their deaths. Those who lost their lives are being robbed of dignity even in their deaths,” added the secretary of Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch.
The federal Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry told Parliament July 29 that no death has been reported due to manual scavenging. In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale has said 66,692 manual scavengers were identified.
Manual scavenging has been banned under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
However, on how many deaths of manual scavengers have been recorded, the minister replied, “No such deaths have been reported due to manual scavenging.” The government does not identify deaths due to manual scavenging and instead calls them deaths due to hazardous cleaning of septic tanks and sewers.
During the last session of Parliament, on March 10, Athawale had said, “No deaths due to manual scavenging has been reported. However, there have been reports of death of persons while cleaning sewers or septic tanks.” Activists have described the government’s response as a complete lack of apathy.
Bezwada Wilson, the national convener of Safai Karmachari Andolan, an organization working to eradicate manual scavenging, said the minister had himself admitted that 340 people died while cleaning sewers.
“Now, he is making a statement technically and thinking manual scavenging as dry latrines. So, he must mention in his statement very clearly that in dry latrines people may not die but here in septic tanks people die. The government is denying everything and in the same manner, he is denying deaths due to manual scavenging,” he told PTI.
“It is not fair on the part of the government. When we kill these people we must have the courage to say that it is due to some kind of mistake that we are going to prevent. The government is denying the fundamental right of dignity to these people and is not even counting the deaths. It is a modern form of untouchability — ignoring the life of a Dalit,” added Wilson, who won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2016.
Source: thehindu.com