No compensation to family, reluctance to file FIR: Manual scavengers' death

By Arun Khote, Sanjeev Kumar*
Recently, there have been four instances of horrifying deaths of sewer/septic tank workers in Uttar Pradesh. On 2 May, 2024, Shobran Yadav, 56, and his son Sushil Yadav, 28, died from suffocation while cleaning a sewer line in Lucknow’s Wazirganj area. In another incident on 3 May 2024, two workers Nooni Mandal, 36 and Kokan Mandal aka Tapan Mandal, 40 were killed while cleaning the septic tank in a house in Noida, Sector 26. The two workers were residents of Malda district of West Bengal and lived in the slum area of Noida Sector 9.

Kokan Mandal lived with his wife Anita Mandal and has three school-going children in Bengal while Nooni Mandal lived with his wife Lilika Mandal and his son Sujan on rent in a jhuggi. They worked as daily wage labourers and sanitation workers informally.

On 3 May, at 7 pm the two workers were called to clean the septic tank of a private residence in Noida Sector 26. Both the workers were killed by inhaling toxic gases while cleaning the septic tank. It is to be noted, as informed by the family of the victims, that there was no one to supervise the cleaning process at the site.

Even when both the workers got killed due to the toxic gas, for an extended period no one from the owner’s family inquired or became aware of the situation. They were rescued by the police at around 11 pm and taken to Kailash Hospital in Sector 27, Noida where they were declared dead on arrival.

The hospital issued A Medico-Legal Case (MLC) and sent the bodies of the deceased for post-mortem on the same day. The post-mortem was conducted on 4 May but the police have not done any proceedings thereafter.
Since then, the family of the victims have not received the post mortem report from the police and neither has an FIR been filed till now. The Police Commissionerate Sector 20, Noida showed reluctance to file an FIR and claimed that the death of the sanitation workers was ‘coincidental’.

There has been constant pressure on the victim's family for not filing an FIR and there is no evidence to show that the entitled compensation money has been received by the victim's family.
Manual scavenging is an illegal practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (MS Act) which bans the use of an individual to manually clean, carry, or handle human excreta in any manner.

Kokan Mandal and Nooni Mandal were victims of manual scavenging and were made to manually clean the septic tank of a private household without any safety equipment and an FIR must be lodged under MS Act, 2013.

Furthermore, the families of the victims are entitled to the due compensation as per the orders of the Supreme Court of India. It is also the duty of the police to provide security and shelter to the widows of the sanitation workers and ensure that they get the due compensation.
Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) and Justice News have issued this joint statement condemning the inaction of police and government authorities to give due compensation to the family and ensure their proper rehabilitation.

It is tragic that even after 10 years of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 the practice of manual scavenging still exists and that there are no proper measures to ensure justice to the victims.

We stand in strong opposition to the increasing number of deaths in sewer/septic tanks in Uttar Pradesh and demand that immediate action must be taken to prevent such deaths in the future.
---

*With Justice News and Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

MGNREGA: How caste and power hollowed out India’s largest welfare law

By Sudhir Katiyar, Mallica Patel* The sudden dismantling of MGNREGA once again exposes the limits of progressive legislation in the absence of transformation of a casteist, semi-feudal rural society. Over two days in the winter session, the Modi government dismantled one of the most progressive legislations of the UPA regime—the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

MGNREGA’s limits and the case for a new rural employment framework

By Dr Jayant Kumar* Rural employment programmes have played a pivotal role in shaping India’s socio-economic landscape . Beyond providing income security to vulnerable households, they have contributed to asset creation, village development, and social stability. However, persistent challenges—such as seasonal unemployment, income volatility, administrative inefficiencies, and corruption—have limited the transformative potential of earlier schemes.

Search This Blog