‘Ensure safety of sewer cleaners’

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to ensure no person is engaged in cleaning sewer lines and other drains in the capital

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to ensure no person is engaged in cleaning sewer lines and other drains in the capital without protective gear.

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A bench of justice BD Ahmed and justice Sanjeev Sachdeva directed the Chief Executive Officer of DJB to ensure that the order is strictly complied with.

The court also sought from the municipal corporations a status report indicating steps taken to guarantee no person was engaged to clean sewers and drains without proper equipment.

The order came on a petition filed in public interest in 2007 for rehabilitation of manual scavengers under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act of 2013.

The municipal corporations said there were no manual scavengers in the city.