Despite repeated government claims that manual scavenging has been abolished in India, the relentless spate of deaths among sewer and septic tank workers continues to expose a deeply entrenched reality of caste-based discrimination, systemic neglect, and institutional failure. A press release issued by the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) paints a harrowing picture of hazardous conditions faced by sanitation workers across the country—conditions that routinely lead to fatal outcomes with little to no accountability.
On February 2, 2025, two workers died and one was critically injured while cleaning a sewer in Narela, Delhi. Employed by a private contractor, the workers had no protective equipment. Within days, three more workers—Farzem Sheikh, Hashi Sheikh, and Suman Sardar—perished in the Bantala area of the Kolkata Leather Complex after being swept into a manhole due to a pipe burst. They were working under a contract from the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. The Mayor of Kolkata, Firhad Hakim, attributed the deaths to the buildup of toxic industrial discharge but offered no assurance of accountability beyond an inquiry.
These tragedies unfolded just days after the Supreme Court’s January 29, 2025 ruling banning manual scavenging and hazardous sewer and septic tank cleaning in major Indian cities. The court, responding to a petition by Dr. Balram Singh, emphasized that such practices violate fundamental human rights and must cease immediately.
Yet, the deaths continue. On May 22, three workers died in a septic tank at a woollen mill in Bikaner. A week earlier, five workers were trapped in a septic tank in Deeg, Rajasthan, leading to one death and four critical injuries. In April, two workers, one a minor, lost their lives cleaning a sewer in Alwar. In October 2024, three Valmiki workers died under similar circumstances in Fatehpur.
On May 27, four labourers died and four others were hospitalized after being exposed to toxic gases inside a septic tank at Achal Jewels in Jaipur. They were ordered to retrieve precious metals from sludge—a practice that not only highlights dangerous working conditions but the dehumanization of Dalit workers.
Rajasthan alone has witnessed over 15 such deaths since March 2025. But this pattern is not confined to one state. In Sikar district, a 13-year-old child was among those who died in April while clearing a blocked sewage line. On May 19 in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, three Dalit workers died cleaning a sewage tank at a dyeing mill. In Madhya Pradesh, eight men were killed in April by toxic fumes while cleaning a well ahead of a festival. On May 21 in Faridabad, a sanitation worker and a landlord trying to rescue him both died; no FIR has been registered. In Ahmedabad, three contract workers died on May 16 while cleaning a septic tank in a garment factory—again, without any safety protocols.
Similar deaths have occurred in Noida, Rohini, and Sarojini Nagar in Delhi; in Anand Vihar, a 24-year-old Delhi Jal Board sanitation worker was found dead in a sewer chamber without safety gear. On June 2, a family of three in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, died while cleaning a septic tank. Even India’s leading academic institution, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), witnessed a blatant violation of the Supreme Court ruling when a worker was forced into a sewer without protective equipment.
In Odisha’s Koraput district, four men died from asphyxiation while cleaning a newly built septic tank in Podalaguda village, further evidencing that this issue spans rural and urban divides.
According to DASAM, 116 manual scavenger deaths were reported in 2024, and nearly 42 have already occurred in just the first half of 2025—bringing the two-year toll to 158. Despite the existence of the 2013 Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act and the recent Supreme Court order, implementation remains dismal. The continued deaths make it clear that protective legislation without enforcement is meaningless.
DASAM has called for immediate steps including mandatory FIR registration for each death under relevant legal provisions, independent judicial inquiries for every fatality, a minimum compensation of Rs. 30 lakh for families of the deceased, and Rs. 20 lakh for those disabled due to hazardous sanitation work. They demand permanent revocation of licenses of contractors who violate the law and a nationwide audit of sanitation work practices, especially within private enterprises and urban local bodies. DASAM also insists on an end to subcontracting and the use of unregulated labour intermediaries.
These deaths are not isolated accidents; they are systemic crimes rooted in caste-based oppression and economic marginalization. The government’s inaction signals a dangerous tolerance for the exploitation of the most vulnerable. DASAM's statement affirms that manual scavengers are not disposable. Their lives matter, and their dignity must be protected. The time for platitudes has passed—what is needed now is justice.
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*With Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM), National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
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