In poll-bound Tamil Nadu, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government is banking on what it claims are the development projects and welfare schemes implemented under the MK Stalin administration.
The opposition, however, points to deteriorating law and order, lack of safety for women, atrocities against Dalits, and issues faced by sanitation workers—including sewer deaths—as emblematic of the government's failures.
In the last one week alone, two sewer deaths were reported in Tamil Nadu —one in Tambaram, Chennai and another in Madurai.
"Vulnerable, marginalised, oppressed, excluded and voiceless, many are silently dying in the sewers of this country. It is an absolute shame," noted Deepthi Sukumar, Convenor of the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA).
"This is a human rights issue," she added.
SKA organised a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Wednesday against the manual scavenging deaths recorded across the country.
Safai Karamcharis from 10 states and women who lost husbands and sons due to manual scavenging took part in the protest. A letter addressed to PM Modi calling for immediate action for the situation has been released.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Deepthi noted that the reason for the continuing sewer deaths is lack of political will.
The AIADMK manifesto released on Tuesday made no notable mention of measures to curb sewer deaths in the state. The ruling DMK is yet to release its manifesto. However, the manifesto released by Seeman's Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) has promised improved wages for sanitation workers. It promised to end privatisation of the sanitation sector and also end hazardous manual scavenging.
This is particularly significant given that over the past 15 years Tamil Nadu has reported the highest number of deaths of workers cleaning sewers and septic tanks in the country, with a total of 330 fatalities. More than 95 percent of them were Dalits.
Tamil Nadu is followed by Gujarat with 212 deaths, Delhi with 151, Maharashtra with 149, and Uttar Pradesh with 143, according to the SKA.
"In Tamil Nadu, the higher number of reported deaths is also attributed to rapid urbanisation and the growth of small towns. While the state government has taken some steps to address the issue, we continue to press for stronger action," said Bezwada Wilson, National Convenor of SKA.
"We have also filed a case in the Chennai High Court—SFA vs Government of Tamil Nadu—which was initiated five years ago," he added.
Kerala, which always claims that there is no manual scavenging in the state, has reported 15 deaths.
"We are asking for a national apology and total mechanisation of sewage and septic tanks," he said.
On March 19, the government reported in Parliament that only 65 people have died while doing manual scavenging. But the actual number is 102, said Wilson.
According to SKA, in 2024, 116 people died of manual scavenging, while in 2025, 121 people died. "We are only in the third month of the year and 41 deaths have been recorded so far," he said, stressing that the situation is concerning.
SKA demanded a national apology from the Prime Minister for ignoring the people who died by manual scavenging and turning a blind eye to caste-based oppression.
"We are demanding a time-bound action plan to end all sewer and septic tank deaths and liberation and rehabilitation of the people," said Wilson.
SKA also demanded policies to safeguard the right to life and dignity, strict implementation of the 2013 act and 2014 Supreme Court judgement.
"No human should go down the sewage tanks, it should be completely mechanised work," he said.
According to Deepthi, the most important reason for the rising deaths is the apathy and negligence of the government. She also blamed casteism for the lack of response from the government to sewer deaths. Moreover, cases are not filed under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, and the SC/ST Act. From 1993 till now, there has been zero conviction rate on this issue, she added.