The State government has passed an order, in compliance with the directions of the Madras High Court, to end manual scavenging and enforce safety measures while entering sewerage lines.
Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Secretary K. Ashok Vardhan Shetty, in the order passed on Friday, stated that the urban local bodies, TWAD Board and Chennai Metrowater must obtain an undertaking from contractors engaged for cleaning and maintenance of sewerage systems, that they would not allow sanitary workers to enter sewerage lines or septic tanks.
Under exceptional circumstances granted by the Madras High Court, the contractor can allow workers to enter, but only with adequate safety gadgets and under the supervision of qualified staff after testing for the presence of toxic gases using gas detector. The naked flame method of testing is hazardous and should be strictly avoided, the order said.
The contractor should take insurance polices for all workers and photocopy must be furnished to the employer and kept alive till the completion of the contract. Staff of these agencies violating provisions of the new order would be liable for stringent disciplinary action.
According to the order, the urban local bodies should ensure that hotels, marriage halls, educational institutions and other establishments constructed diaphragm chambers to prevent entry of solid waste into the sewerage system.
There were stray incidents in the recent past, where innocent lives were lost due to carelessness of the contractors. Some of the deaths took place on private premises and urban local bodies had no knowledge of such private transactions.
Sustained efforts to create awareness among the public that the septic tank or sewer line could release toxic fumes and about the indignity and hazards associated with manual scavenging are required to eradicate the evil practice, Mr. Shetty said.
