Sanitation worker dies while cleaning sewer, probe ordered

New Delhi: A 45-year-old sanitation worker died and three others were taken ill today allegedly while cleaning a sewer at the city government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital in central Delhi, police said.

In three separate incidents over a month, nine people have died while cleaning sewer lines and septic tanks in the national capital.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) M S Randhawa said four workers had entered the sewer and had lost consciousness "apparently due to poisonous gas".
"They were rushed to hospital for treatment, where one of them died while others were undergoing treatment," Randhawa said.

The deceased has been identified as 45-year-old Rishipal.

The hospital had outsourced the work of cleaning the sewer and the police were further probing the matter, he said, adding a case has been registered against the contractor under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Soon after the incident was reported, the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi government ordered an inquiry into the incident.

"The department (PWD) is also considering strict action, including suspension of area officers concerned, for the lapses," a senior Delhi government official said.

When contacted, the medical superintendent of LNJP hospital, Dr J C Passey, said, "I am on leave as I am unwell. The work is being allotted to contractor by the PWD."

Meanwhile, PWD Secretary Ashwani Kumar visited the hospital and enquired about the well-being of the injured persons.

Sources in the Delhi government said their revenue department would consider providing ex-gratia relief to the family members of the deceased.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on August 18 had announced a meeting with executive engineers and senior officials of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on August 22, in the wake of the death of nine sanitation workers.

Earlier this month, Kejriwal had announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh and job to a member of the families of the three workers who died while cleaning a sewer pipe in Lajpat Nagar.

The issue of sanitation workers' deaths was also raised in the session of the Delhi Assembly last week, where Water Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam had said that the government was framing new parameters so that there was no such incident in future.

Under new parameters, the responsibility of the officers and contractors concerned will be fixed.

Recently, the DJB's employee union urged the chief minister to prevent such incidents by not engaging untrained workers under contractors for cleaning sewage.