Deep Mukherjee 
Jaipur: When Sanjay Hatwal, a resident of the Valmiki Basti in Fatehpur – a town in Rajasthan’s Sikar district – heard that someone from his locality had fallen sick while cleaning a sewage line, he asked the other residents from the basti about the identity of the person.
Hatwal, a man in his early 40s who mostly stays at home due to a heart ailment, tried calling his younger brother Mahendra Valmiki, who, like several other residents of the Valmiki Basti – a settlement of people from the Dalit Valmiki community – would also clean sewage lines.
“I couldn’t contact my brother Mahendra when I called on his mobile. Later, I got to know that he was among three men who died while trying to clean the sewage line. They were not given any safety gear. The company’s officials had asked them to get down inside the sewage line to clean it,” said a grief-stricken Hatwal.
After one man lost consciousness, other two died trying to save him
On October 22, three Dalit Valmiki men – Mahendra (38), Mukesh (35) and Sajjan (30) – died when they were trying to clean a sewage line in Fatehpur.
Fatehpur police circle officer Arvind Kumar told The Wire that the Fatehpur Nagar Parishad (municipal council) had awarded Larsen and Toubro (L&T) the contract to maintain sewage lines in the city for one year.
“The three men were hired by L&T. They were digging up a choked sewage line on behalf of L&T when the accident happened. One of the men became unconscious after climbing down inside the sewage line. Thereafter, the other two men also entered to save him. All three lost their lives. They didn’t have any safety gear despite the fact that it is mandatory as per law. We see often that apart from the Valmiki caste, no other castes are ready to clean sewage lines. It is a very tragic incident,” said Kumar.
As locals mourn the deaths of the three men at the Valmiki Basti in Fatehpur, there is also uncertainty about the future of the three families who have lost their breadwinners.
“My brother has four children, with the youngest being only ten years old. It was my brother who was the sole breadwinner for his family. Mahendra received Rs 500 per day for cleaning sewers. When Sajjan went in first and got unconscious, it was the people from L&T who asked the other two to go inside. Why weren’t they given any safety equipment? Three families have lost their sons,” said Hatwal.
At the house of Sajjan, the man who locals said was the first to climb down the sewage line, his relatives and neighbours sat in a huddle trying to console his family.
“My brother has two children who are very young and presently study in the sixth standard. Sajjan has been cleaning sewage lines since the last three to four years. He was the first to descend into the sewer before he became unconscious. We are unable to believe that he is gone so soon,” said Sajjan’s cousin Mahendra.
Supreme Court had directed Union government to eradicate manual scavenging
On October 20, 2023, a bench of Supreme Court Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar had directed the Union government to take appropriate measures and frame policies, and issue directions, to all statutory bodies, including corporations, railways, cantonments as well as agencies under its control to ensure that manual sewer cleaning was completely eradicated in a phased manner.
Back in 2014, the Supreme Court had said in its judgment in the Safai Karamchari Andolan and Ors vs. Union of India & Ors case that “entering sewer lines without safety gear should be made a crime even in emergency situations”.
The deaths of the three men resulted in protests by the Valmiki community in Fatehpur, who demanded justice for the trio.
After the protests and discussions with the administration, it was decided that L&T would give a compensation of Rs 30 lakh – the compensation amount as per the Supreme Court’s 2023 directions – to each of the three bereaved families.
‘Valmikis have to do sewage cleaning even today’
“It is the Valmiki community that has to clean sewage lines and do manual scavenging work even today in the 21st century. Cleaning staff from other castes who work with local bodies such as municipal councils are reluctant to clean sewers, which then has to be done by people from the Valmiki community,” Suresh Valmiki, a Valmiki community leader from Fatehpur, told The Wire.
Valmikis are among the most marginalised Dalit castes in Rajasthan, with a majority of the community’s members earning their living by doing cleaning work.
The Fatehpur police have registered an FIR against officials of L&T for their alleged negligence that resulted in the deaths of the three men.
“The sewage line was around 20 feet deep. We have registered an FIR against officials of L&T under sections 106/1 of the BNS [causing death by rash or negligent acts not amounting to culpable homicide] and relevant sections of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. Further investigation is being conducted and no arrests have been made so far,” said Subhash Bijarniya, station house officer of the Fatehpur Kotwali police station.
Bijarniya added that the preliminary investigation indicated that the cause of death appeared to be asphyxiation owing to the presence of poisonous gases inside the sewage line.