175 manhole deaths: Not one govt official pulled up

Gujarat has seen 175 cases of workers dying in manholes and sewer lines but except for one case, no one has ever been punished for the deaths.

Those who have been fighting with the state to get compensation for such deaths say incidents such as the ones in Bavla on Monday (in which three died in a manhole) will continue to happen unless government officials are taken to task.

"As far as I known only one case in which a man died after entering into a gutter in Bapunagar in 2008 saw the contractor being punished with one year of imprisonment. In all the other 174 cases no one has ever been punished," said Purushottam Vaghela of Manav Garima that fights for the rights of manhole workers and to end the system of men entering sewer to clean them.

Vaghela said the problem is that every time a death such a the one in Bavla is reported the police are quick to report an accidental death. "No one is every blamed. Even when someone is named as an accused it is often the contractor. But the government n official who gave the contract is never pulled up. If you give a contract it is your duty to ensure that rules are followed. You can't wash your hands saying it is the contractor who asked the labourer to enter into the sewer line and we have nothing to do with it. You have to ensure that the contractor uses machines and not men," said Vaghela.

He said Bavla nagarpalika had earlier seen a similar death in December 2017. "In that case the victim's family was not even compensated because the nagarpalika washed its hands of the matter saying it was the lookout of the water supply department and not the nagarpalika," said Vaghela.

HP Mishra of the National Campaign for the Dignity and Right of Sewage and Allied Workers said that while the government has filed an affidavit with the courts promising that they will not be using men to clean sewer lines, every nagarpalika continues to use labourers to clean them.

"Moreover, even the contractors are not aware that they can't ask men to enter sewer holes. The government also does not carry out a health and safety awareness training for its contractors," said Mishra.

He said since manhole workers don't form a significant vote bank the government is happy to trample on their rights. Siddharth Patel, chief officer of Bavla nagarpalika when contacted said he cannot comment on the earlier instance since he has been in the nagarpalika for only four months. "As for this case investigation is on and we will also be trying to get a compensation for the victim," said Patel. It should be noted that of the 175 cases of death of manhole workers registered in the state compensation has been paid only in 75 cases.

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“In that case the victim’s family was not even compensated because the nagarpalika washed its hands of the matter saying it was the lookout of the water supply department and not the nagarpalika,” said Purushottam Vaghela of Manav Garima