PRAGOTI

The Madras High Court comes out strongly against manual cleaning of sewers.The court ordered that the “entry of sanitary workers into the sewerage system under the guise of removing the blocks should be prohibited, except under exceptional circumstances”.

S. DORAIRAJ writes about the court order and the travail of manual sewers, a large number of whom die instantaneously after inhaling noxious fumes in the sewers.The writer observes "The court may have stirred the authorities into action for now, but the stand that entry of workers into manholes cannot be avoided under some circumstances indicates that Tamil Nadu has a long way to go before it puts an end to this dehumanising practice."