Two persons died of asphyxiation after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a septic tank at a house in Kavakkarai near Puzhal in Chennai on Monday, May 15. The deceased have been identified as Bhaskaran (53) and Ismail (37). While the police have taken the house owner, Nirmala, into custody, they are yet to register a case against her under the provisions of the Manual Scavenging Prohibition Act. A case has been registered under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and an investigation is underway.
Despite the ban on manual scavenging, the house owner employed Bhaskaran and Ismail to clean the underground septic tank at her place. According to reports, both men entered the tank. When they failed to emerge, Nirmala called the police. The Puzhal police retrieved the bodies with the assistance of Sengundram fire and rescue services personnel. The bodies were later sent to Stanley Government Hospital for autopsy.
Nirmala has been taken into custody, but has not been booked yet, police added. Manual scavenging of all forms is prohibited in India under The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
In November last year, three persons – Rajesh, Sivakumar, and Mohanraj – died while working inside a septic tank at a construction site in Sukkaliyur in Karur district. A month before the incident, three men – Murugan, Bhakyaraj, and Arumugam – lost their lives while working in a septic tank in Sriperumbudur.
In 2019, Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of manual scavenging deaths in India within a period of five years. The state recorded 144 deaths between 2013 and 2018, followed by Uttar Pradesh which recorded 71 deaths in the same period.