A 26-year-old man asphyxiated to death while cleaning a block in a sewer line in Madhavaram, Chennai, on 28 June.
The incident happened in Madhavaram, Chennai on June 28. (Creative Commons)
A 26-year-old man died and another fell unconscious while cleaning a block sewer line in Chennai’s Madhavaram on Tuesday, 28 June.
The local police identified the deceased as Nelson, a resident of Thanjavur, and his subordinate as 40-year-old Ravikumar.
“Ravikumar is being treated at the Stanley Government Hospital. Doctors have informed us that he is out of danger,” said an inspector from the Madhavaram police station.
“The duo were engaged to clean a blocked sewer at Madhavaram by one Prakash. They were not provided with any security gears by the contractor,” he explained.
Nelson collapsed inside the sewer after inhaling poisonous gas, said the officer.
“Ravikumar went inside the sewer to pull Nelson out, but fainted,” he added.
A rescue team rushed to the incident site not long after the locals informed the police, he said.
“Rescue personnel masked with oxygen gear went inside the sewer and pulled the duo out. They were rushed to the Stanley Government Hospital for medical care. The doctors there declared Nelson dead on arrival,” added the officer.
The police learnt during their investigation that the two were employed by Prakash for a monthly remuneration of ₹15,000.
The Madhavaram police have registered an FIR under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 304 and other provisions of Prohibitions of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act.
They have also arrested Prakash and one Vinodh in connection with the case.
In the last two months, two similar incidents have taken the lives of two sanitation workers in the city.
In the first incident, a 53-year-old man working at a garbage segregation unit in Madhavaram died after inhaling poisonous gas on 3 May.
A 28-year-old man died while cleaning sewage water in a Chennai apartment On 6 May.
The police identified the victim as Muthukumar from Muthapudupet in Chennai.
Bezwada Wilson, national convener of Safai Karmachari Andolan — a human-rights organisation campaigning to eradicate manual scavenging — said, “The government and agencies must ensure the safety of the workers by providing them protective gear.”
He added, “The Supreme Court on 27 March, 2014, directed all the states to abolish manual scavenging. Yet, it continues in many states, including Tamil Nadu.”
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