The study based on interviews carried out in 51 cases of septic tank and sewer cleaning fatalities which claimed the lives of 97 sanitation workers and left behind 70 survivors with minor to serious injuries. (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal/File)
A study on 51 cases involving the deaths of 97 manual scavengers across the country shows that in a majority of the cases, no FIR was filed nor was the mandatory compensation given to the families. In not a single of these cases was prosecution carried out. Likewise, not one child from these families has received the government's pre-matric scholarships meant for them.
The study was carried out in 11 states by Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan, the coalition of civil society organisations working towards eradication of manual scavenging. It is based on interviews carried out in 51 cases of septic tank and sewer cleaning fatalities which claimed the lives of 97 sanitation workers and left behind 70 survivors with minor to serious injuries.
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The study found that FIR was filed in only 35 per cent of the cases i.e. in 18 cases. In a majority of the FIRs filed, IPC section 304 A (death caused due to negligence)…
