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Municipal bodies asked to submit details of sanitation workers to NHRC at earliest
The fresh notices have been issued to 13 municipal corporations, including Lucknow, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Ayodhya, and 415 municipal councils and panchayats.
The Urban Local Bodies Directorate has issued notices to municipal bodies, including Lucknow Municipal Corporation, in the state over nonsubmission of details regarding manpower and equipment used in the cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, to the NHRC.
In the past, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Commission for Safai Karamchari had expressed displeasure over the deaths of workers engaged in ‘manual scavenging’ across the country. On January 5, the NHRC had sought information from the Uttar Pradesh government regarding the equipment available with local bodies that are used for the cleaning of septic tanks and the details of the amount spent on cleaning drains from April 15 to June 16, 2022.
The government had then issued a letter to the civic bodies instructing them to provide the relevant information to the commission.
The fresh notices have been issued to 13 municipal corporations, including Lucknow, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Ayodhya, and 415 municipal councils and panchayats.
In its order, the commission suggested that the state government take certain measures for the workers involved in hazardous works. The commission has said that the safety of the cleaning workers should be ensured and more technology should be used in the work, the accountability of the concerned agencies or employers should be fixed, awareness should be spread, and justice and rehabilitation should be ensured. It also recommended that all sanitation workers entering septic tanks or sewer lines be equipped with helmets, safety jackets, gloves, masks, gumboots, safety glasses, etc.
Lucknow additional municipal commissioner Pankaj Singh said, “All the asked details would be provided to the NHRC as soon as possible. LMC has also directed Jal Sansthan to provide the details of workers involved in the sewer cleaning works.”
