Toll in Powai case up to 2: Why manual cleaning of tanks continue in Mumbai

Earlier on Wednesday, one of the two labourers, who were cleaning the tank of an STP plant at a residential building in Powai, was killed due to inhalation of toxic gases.

Later in the day, the contractor who entered tank to help trapped labourers succumbed to his injuries.

The deceased have been identified as Phulchand Kumar Sahu (28) and Akshay Mandal (25).

The tragedy struck after two labourers from Ultra Tech Pvt Ltd — Akshay Mandal and his maternal uncle, Sudam Mandal — entered the collection tank of the STP plant Wednesday morning. During the course of cleaning, the duo experienced fainting. To aid them, their contractor – Phulchand Kumar Sahu – entered the tank and rescued Sudam safely but found himself experiencing similar fainting when he re-entered the tank to rescue Akshay.

With the two rendered trapped inside the tank, the building’s watchmen called in Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) whose personnel recovered them from the tank using ladders, ropes and breathing apparatus.

The two men, officials said, were unconscious when they were recovered and taken to the nearby Hiranandani hospital.

While Akshay was declared dead upon arrival, Phulchand Kumar’s condition remained critical. At 11.48 pm, Kumar died owing to multiple organ failure.

What caused the deaths?

According to the preliminary information from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the two suffered suffocation owing to inhalation of gases.

Vishnu Awhad, senior station officer at the Vikhroli fire station who attended the call, said, “Before entering the tank, they had emptied the tank of water and entered it to clean the sludge in the bottom. After entering down through the manhole, the two men did not receive enough oxygen. It is likely that owing to the sewage, there were toxic fumes from the gases that also replaced oxygen,” said Awhad.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police, who filed an accidental death report in the matter, said that they are conducting an enquiry to determine the lapses in precautionary measures.

“We are investigating the circumstances that led to the demise and whether the company had followed precautionary measures like provision of safety gears and other protocols,” said a senior official from Mumbai Police.

Manual scavenging
A practice outlawed under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR), manual scavenging is the practice of removing human excreta by hand from sewers or septic tanks. In 2013, the definition of manual scavengers was also broadened to include people employed to clean ditches, or railway tracks.

Citing annual surveys conducted by the BMC, officials maintain that the city records “NIL” cases of manual scavenging. However, civic records offer a study in contrast.

Last year, between March and April, at least six deaths were reported in two separate incidents of manual scavenging — one in Ambujwadi and another in Malad.

Maintaining that the civic body carries out cleaning through deployment of machinery, BMC officials say that such deaths are often reported when private parties like residential buildings or organisations rope in contractors to carry out cleaning.

The practice continues
According to senior officials, septic tanks are cleaned using desludging machines and cesspool vehicles. For the cleaning of Mumbai’s 2000-km long sewer network, the civic body also has at least 26 choke machines, 24 compact pipe sewer cleaning machines, 24 high-capacity suction, jetting machines, advanced air wack machines and sludge dewatering machines.

However, several workers as well as unions of conservancy workers have flagged that the number is insufficient to cater to the demands of a city like Mumbai.

Meanwhile, as per a civic SOP, anyone seeking to carry out cleaning of a septic tank in a private premise is required to pay an hourly charge of Rs 1,885 to procure the BMC’s cesspool vehicles designated for the purpose.

For many, particularly in the slums which have the highest number of septic tanks owing to lack of planned sewer network, paying such high rates for procurement of machinery becomes impossible.
In a bid to cut costs, slum dwellers as well as residential societies then rope in cleaners or contractors for a fraction of rates, who deploy people to enter tanks manually instead of using modern machinery.
Lack of awareness among citizens about the civic facilities adds to the problem.

To eliminate manual cleaning work, unions have demanded that the process of procuring the BMC’s machinery ought to be simplified and made available for free.