Kandivli septic tank case: I'd have died had I agreed to work, says contract labourer

Rajendra Pillai still can't believe that his friends are dead. The contract labourer had accompanied Sayyed Rauf, 50, Annadurai Velumail, 52, and Gunpati Viraswamy, 42, to inspect the cleaning of a septic tank at a newly-opened public toilet in Kandivli West on Thursday. "Gunpati and I opened the lid of the septic tank, but after assessing the work, I told my friends that Rs 500 was too small an amount for the work we were expected to do. I asked them to demand more money from the contractor. They laughed at me and said that he'd not give us an extra penny. I refused to take up the job and left the spot," he recalls, while speaking to mid-day on Saturday. That same day, around 7 pm, Pillai learnt that his friends had died while cleaning the tank. "If I had agreed to work, I would have died too."

Though India banned the practice of manual scavenging under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, many contract labourers are still being illegally hired for the hazardous job and paid measly wages. While the BMC charges anywhere between R20,000 and R30,000 to clean septic tanks with the help of a suction machine, sanitation workers are being hired for as low as Rs 250.

Pillai, who worked at a canteen, lost his job due to the lockdown, and was forced to take up odd jobs. "The contractor Krishnamurthy Sadan also lived in our locality. He use to take contracts for cleaning septic tanks of public toilets and residential societies. He'd only pay Rs 500 to each of us. He even deducted the money for snacks and alcohol from the amount. After completion of work, we'd just get Rs 250. The contractor didn't provide us with any safety gear."

Activist Bezwada Wilson from the Safai Karmachari Andolan said that the BMC should take responsibility for this lapse. "They can't get away by saying that we have machines and people are not using them. The state government must file an FIR against the BMC under SC/ST and Atrocities Act."

Not the first time

Dec 23, 2019: Three contract labourers died while cleaning the septic tank of a residential building in Govandi
May 9, 2019: Three workers from Bhayander died while cleaning the sewers of the residential society in Thane
May 4, 2019: Three workers died in Nalasopora
Nov 1, 2018: Five men, including two firemen, die after inhaling toxic fumes in a 30-ft well covered in sludge in Kalyan
Oct 26, 2018: Three died within minutes of entering industrial drain in Dombivli East