Rs 10 lakh each given to families of 2 who died while cleaning sewer

Sanitation worker Mehul Mehda (24) and sanitation contractor Afzal Pupar died of asphyxiation while cleaning a sewer line in Rajkot city on March 21.

Babariya informed the House that the mother and wife of Mehda and Pupar respectively have been paid Rs 10 lakh each as compensation as per the directions of the Supreme Court related to the deaths while cleaning sewer lines.

The minister also said that a criminal case has been registered in the incident under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act against the late Afzal Pupar and “whoever else is found during investigation”.

The minister also added that the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has provisions to pay Rs 8.5 lakh as assistance to the victim in such cases. “Separate procedure is in process in this regard,” Babariya said.

The Assembly was also informed that two officials associated with the supervision of drainage cleaning in the concerned ward of Rajkot city — assistant engineer KR Sindhav and sanitary inspector SN Patel — have been served with a departmental chargesheet for serious negligence in their duty.

In her reply, Babariya said that the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) holds training programmes related to maintenance of safety while drainage cleaning work. And the late Afzal Pupar had also got training in two such programmes. She further said that Pupar was also provided with necessary safety equipment by the RMC.