New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report regarding the death of a worker and critical injuries to another while cleaning a sewage tank at a residential accommodation in East Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar area.
Observing that the contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights, the apex human rights body has issued notices to the Delhi Municipal Commissioner and the Delhi Police Commissioner, seeking a detailed report within two weeks.
The NHRC said the report is expected to include the status of the investigation as well as details of compensation, if any, paid to the next of kin of the deceased worker and to the injured person.
According to the media report, the incident occurred on May 24 when the owner of the residential property allegedly engaged a contractor for cleaning a sewage tank.
Reportedly, the contractor deployed two workers for the task without providing them protective gear, oxygen support, masks or safety kits.
The report stated that both workers allegedly fell unconscious within minutes of entering the tank and were rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Doctors declared one of the workers dead on arrival, while the other remains in critical condition.
The matter has once again brought focus on the continuing incidents of deaths during manual cleaning of sewage and septic tanks despite legal prohibitions.
Established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the NHRC, an autonomous statutory body, embodies India’s concern for the promotion and protection of human rights. Its primary role is to protect and promote human rights, defined as the rights relating to life, liberty, equality, and the dignity of individuals, guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in international covenants, and enforceable by courts in India.
The apex human rights body has the power to take suo motu (on its own motion) action based on media reports, public knowledge, or other sources, without receiving a formal complaint of human rights violations.
–IANS
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