The Hindu : New Delhi News : Drive to promote safai workers' safety launched

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 16, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Drive to promote safai workers' safety launched

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JULY 15. A campaign for the safety of safai karamcharis known as "Safai Karamchari Jeevan Suraksha Abhiyan'' has been launched to highlight the dangerous and at times even fatal working conditions of safai karmcharis in general and sewer workers in particular in the country.

Aimed at sensitising the wider populace about the inhuman conditions in which these people work, the campaign will involve staging of street plays, distributing pamphlets and holding of public meetings of affected persons as well as other concerned citizens.

The joint campaign has been launched by four organisations -- Dalit Mukti Sangathan, Progressive Students' Union, Stree Adhikar Sangathan and Pragatisheel Yuva Sangathan.

Explaining the need for such a campaign, the groups claim that though there was some awareness about the issue of the safety of sewer workers much needs to be done at the ground level. "According to rough estimates, about a hundred workers are sacrificed at the altar of sewer every year in Delhi and adjoining areas alone. The number of those who suffer from prolonged illness on account of constant exposure to sewers is countless. It is disturbing to note that in spite of all these tragedies the powers-that-be in the Capital do not appear to be unduly disturbed,'' claimed a member. In most cases it has been found that the safai karmacharis do not have even elementary instruments like rope, box, oxygen cylinder and mask at the time of descending into a sewer.

"The workers who die in sewers are mostly contract labour. It is also a fact that safai work is being done mostly by the Dalits belonging to Balmiki or equivalent castes in the Varna hierarchy. Despite their important role in the healthy functioning of society, one notices that they are subjected to caste discrimination of the worst kind," noted member of the team Subhash Gatade.

Under the contract labour provisions the responsibility of compensating the worker lies with the main employer which in the case of Delhi is either the Municipal Corporation or the Delhi Jal Board.

"The bitter truth, however, is that hardly any family receives any compensation. The MCD spends crores of rupees annually for the beautification drives, but does not think about providing safety instruments to the workers,'' complained Gatade.

Meanwhile, on behalf of the Safai Karmchari Jeevan Suraksha Abhiyan, these organisations have also appealed to the citizens of Delhi to put pressure on the Government to provide the sewer workers with the safety instruments and give adequate compensation to the families in case of deaths besides providing a humane working atmosphere. According to the campaigners, an attempt should be made to gradually evolve the work in such a manner that no human being has to go inside the sewer till the time they can ensure that the working atmosphere was safe and secure.

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