In a tragic incident, a sanitation worker from the Dalit community lost his life after reportedly being exposed to poisonous gases while cleaning a sewer in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi district.
The incident occurred at Bhaisapur Ghat in Adampura village. According to a sanitation worker, Ram Babu, there was a complaint regarding a sewerage blockade in front of the Ravidas temple at Rajghat, the Mooknayak reported.
“Ghurelal, 40, and Sunil from the Machhodari area to Bhaisasur Ghat were summoned to clean the sewerage. Upon arrival, Ghurelal and Sunil descended into the manhole using a rope,” Ram Babu was quoted by Mooknayak.
“After a while, Ghurelal stopped responding. Sunil emerged from the manhole and alerted others about the presence of poisonous gas. We informed our supervisor Babu Yadav who fled the scene. We then notified the Rajghat police, who promptly summoned the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF),” Ram Babu continued.
The NDRF team quickly rescued Ghurelal. He was taken to a nearby hospital but doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
Ghurelal is survived by his wife and three children. He had been working as a sanitation worker for more than 15 years and earned a monthly salary of Rs 12,000.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi.
Last year, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union and state governments to ensure the practice of manual scavenging is eradicated in a phased manner.
The apex court asked the Union and state governments to issue guidelines to protect a sanitation worker from entering into a manhole. The Union and state governments were ordered to give Rs 30 lakhs as compensation to a victim’s family.
