Manual scavenger victims: Delhi govt 'hasn't compensated', hospitals 'unresponsive'

By A Representative
The Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (BASAM), a rights organization, has said that while on May 5, 2019, five people became victims of manual scavenging in an incident which left 3 injured and 2 dead in Bhagya Vihar, Delhi, one of the injured, Sher Singh, is currently battling for his life, yet, despite the Delhi Chief Minister’s statement, they have not been given the compensatory amount.
Sher's condition is particularly very bad, BASAM said. He has been bedridden for the past three months and the family does not have any income. He is a migrant worker, coming from Tundla (UP) and belongs to the Dalit community. He takes up day labourer's jobs to feed his family of five. He has a wife, Soni, and four young children.
Pointing out that Soni is struggling to sustain her family and take care of her husband's medical expenses, BASAM said, she has had to resort to begging to be able to collect money to take her husband to the hospital. DASAM contacted her after facing several issues with uncooperative authorities of Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital.
Sher was re-admitted to the hospital, was referred on July 23 to the Ambedkar hospital and the GB Pant Hospital, and was taken to the Ambedkar hospital. "From the doctors at Ambedkar we got to know that he is HIV positive. The Sanjay Gandhi hospital discharged him because he was found to be HIV+", regretted DASAM.
"Now Sher's treatment is ongoing from the Ambedkar hospital for HIV but he is too weak because of tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and low immunity levels due to HIV. Neither the GB Pant nor the Ambedkar hospitals are ready to admit him. The man will not be able to survive if he doesn’t get hospital care immediately", DASAM said.

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