On December 5, the Union government informed the Lok Sabha that 49 people have passed away so far this year as a result of improper cleaning of septic tanks and sewers. However, the government made it clear that it did not have any information on the quantity or location of “manhole cleaning robots” that had been used nationwide.
Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale released the information. This follows after public announcements made by local authorities in Kerala, Maharashtra, and West Bengal throughout the year on the introduction of such sewer-cleaning machinery.
It also stated that the States of Rajasthan (10), Gujarat (nine), Tamil Nadu (seven), and Maharashtra (seven) had the highest number of reported deaths of this kind this year.
The Social Justice Ministry was answering queries on manual scavenging, deaths from hazardous sewer cleaning, and the project’s progress to have all districts self-declare as free of manual scavenging from Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Aparupa Poddar.
According to the Social Justice Ministry, as of November 29, 716 districts out of 766 had declared themselves to be free of manual scavenging. The districts that have not yet made this declaration are required to submit a list of unhygienic latrines in their locality.
Senior Ministry officials, however, have made it clear that this self-declaration for manual scavenging is predicated only on the presence or absence of unhygienic latrines in the district; in the event that none are discovered.
