Sewer cleaning row: Tamil Nadu MLA J J Ebenezer terms Dalit activist Shalin Maria Lawrence’s charges unfair

Claiming that he has full footage of the incident, the legislator said he had not even talked to the worker and added that they were trying to remove the clogging in a drinking water pipe and it was not a drainage system.

அனைவருக்கும் வணக்கம், கடந்த டிசம்பர் 31
அன்று முதல் ஆர்.கே. நகர் சட்டமன்ற தொகுதியில் "உங்களை தேடி
தினந்தோறும் உங்கள் எம்எல்ஏ ( MLA at your Doorsteps ) என்ற
தலைப்பில் வீடுவீடாக அனைத்து துறை அலுவலர்களுடன் சென்று
குறைகளை அறிந்து மனுக்களை பெற்று ஆய்வு மேற்கொண்டு
வருகிறோம். (1/5) pic.twitter.com/NsUPBMFVaN

— J.J.Ebenezer MLA (@JJEbenezer1) January 5, 2023

In another reply to a tweet, the DMK MLA reiterated that the incident happened without his knowledge and he came to know that the worker cleaned with his bare hands only the next day through news.

Last week, Lawrence shared a clip of a news channel which showed MLA Ebenezer overseeing the worker cleaning the gully without any protective gear.

Terming the act atrocious to the core, the writer alleged that this was a crime under Prevention of Manual Scavenging Act and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act.

This is not new or a one of incident .This is the first time it has been recorded on video .Most sanitation workers across Tamilnadu use their bare hands to clean sewers.Also manual scavenging is deaths of Tamilnadu are highest in the country.The state does not care .

— Shalin Maria Lawrence (@TheBluePen25) January 4, 2023

Ebenezer tweeted that through ‘MLA at Your Doorsteps’ (sic) initiative, he alongside other officials had been visiting each house to address the grievances of people and during one such occasion on December 31 there were complaints at ward 43 regarding blocks in the hand pump that supplied drinking water.

Claiming that it was clogged with leaves and mud, the MLA said that he was questioning the assistant engineer why they haven’t taken any measure to clear this, and during that time a sanitary worker removed them and he didn’t notice it.

The DMK MLA said his initiative to address public grievances is receiving good response from the residents of RK Nagar and hence those who cannot tolerate that are spreading fake stories.