The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) on Tuesday said 64 people have died while cleaning sewers in Delhi since 1993, with 38 such deaths taking place in the last two years.
NCSK chairman Manhar Valjibhai Zala claimed the Delhi government has not been implementing the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, and was sending out a wrong message to the rest of the country.
Delhi's Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam, however, said the city government has ensured effective implementation of the Act and the deaths occurred in septic tanks of malls and high-rises which are inaccessible to sewer-cleaning machines of the Delhi Jal Board.
The minister said his government has put an end to manual scavenging and was exploring alternative ways to clean septic tanks in malls and buildings.
He said, "The issue should not be politicised and everyone should join hands to put an end to the abominable practice. We built 'Mangalyaan', we should also explore new technologies for sewer cleaning."
To this, Gautam said, "Delhi has got a better scheme than Ayushman Bharat which cannot be implemented in the national capital because the average income of Delhiites is higher than those residing in other states."
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