Video exposes metro water’s failure to end manual scavenging

A shocking video of metro water employing the services of scavengers to clear sewerage blocks at K.K. Nagar on Wednesday has bro-ught to the fore the lack of commitment on the part of authorities’ to prevent manual scavenging.

The video uploaded to YouTube was shot on Vanniyar Street in West K.K. Nagar on December 30 by A. Narayanan of Change India, and shows a man standing inside a manhole in waist-deep sewage trying to remove a clog while his co-workers and an  engineer looking on.

“Under the watchful eyes of the Assistant Engineer at 2 pm in KK nagar West, contract workers were seen immersed into raw sewage to remove blocks in the sewerage lines. No effort had been done to provide even a modicum of safety precaution to the workers. No standard operating procedure is in place. No training, no motivation, and of course, public indifference because when the video was shot, the AE simply moved away,” said Narayanan.

“This appears to be the norm rather than exception. Lives continue to be lost on account of deadly germs and poisonous gases. Only last week, there was one more death of a sanitary worker in a sewer treatment well in Chennai,” he said. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, prevents manual scavenging and lays down strict punishment,  including jail sentence,  to violators.

Metro water officials told DC that the YouTube video was a compelling evidence and that the engineer in charge could face suspension. “When there is the intrusion of WhatsApp and YouTube, such misdemeanours don’t go unnoticed. So, most of the engineers are scared and they don’t let it happen. This looks to be a clear violation,” said an official, requesting anonymity.

A few officials opined that sometimes the workers themselves insist on getting into the manhole, so that the work is completed. “In the end, they want to be done with the work, get the money and push off,” said a senior official.