BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has asked the state government to submit a report on the working conditions of sanitary workers and implementation of programmes for their occupational safety and social dignity.
Human rights activist Biswapriya Kanungo had filed a complaint on the basis of a news report titled ‘Drain of Shame’ published in The New Indian Express on August 17. In his complaint, Kanungo had enclosed the report which highlighted how the sanitary workers in Bhubaneswar are working in hazardous environment.
The OHRC noted that the report had cited a specific instance where a sanitary worker named Purnima Sethy was standing on the concrete slab of an open drain in Old Town area and collecting plastic bottles, broken glass bottles, pouches and other waste materials. She was covered by sludge. Sethy’s son Dhananjay was working barebody inside the drain, removing the sludge and other waste materials with bare hands and handing over the same to her.
In his complaint, Kanungo alleged that this situation is witnessed every year in the city before the onset of the monsoon season and sanitary workers are engaged to clean the drains manually, which carry human excreta and other waste articles, without being equipped with any protective gear. Usually, the people belonging to Scheduled Castes are engaged as sanitation workers. However, even after fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution and the statutory safeguards, they often meet with unfortunate deaths during cleaning the drains/sewerage lines, said Kanungo.
OHRC sent the copies of the complaint and the news report to the secretaries of Housing and Urban Development, Labour and Employee’s State Insurance, and ST and SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare departments. The Commission asked these departments to submit their respective reports regarding the matter by next date of hearing on October 17.