 Summary of this article
- Families of sanitation workers who died in sewer and septic tank incidents are still waiting, often for years, for SC-mandated compensation.
- Despite a legal ban, workers continue to be sent into toxic sewers without protective gear, highlighting systemic negligence.
- Activists demand a time-bound plan to end such deaths, proper rehabilitation, mechanisation, and strict enforcement of existing laws.
“We did not receive any compensation from the authorities. I have been waiting for 11 years, but the wait is still not over,” says Mangal Singh, who lost his father in 2016. More than a decade later, the promise of compensation remains unfulfilled.
Mangal’s father was 45 when he died after entering a sewer without adequate safety measures. Like many sanitation workers across India, he was sent into a toxic space without protective gear, an act that continues despite being outlawed.
Following his father’s death, Mangal became the sole earning member of the family in 2016, taking on responsibilities that completely changed his life. He now works as a delivery boy to make ends meet, and his only demand is that the government provide him compensation.
His story is not an isolated one. Across the country, hundreds of families of sanitation workers continue to wait, sometimes for years, for compensation mandated by law.
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