Ghaziabad: A man entering a manhole without safety gear to clean a drain has put GMC under scrutiny, with the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis seeking a report on how the prohibited practice was allowed to take place. The city’s municipal commissioner has also ordered an inquiry.The incident was reported on July 2 in Sector 9 of New Vijay Nagar. Sachin Dhingiya of NGO Free Legal Aid Group for Shoshit, which works against manual scavenging, said his team received information that a sanitary worker had entered a manhole without protective equipment.“Our team sent photographs with geolocation. I raised the issue on the Jan Sunwai portal as Cops from Vijay Nagar police station took cognisance but passed the buck to GMC,” Dhingiya said.He subsequently approached the commission, which issued notice to GMC on Aug 4, seeking an action-taken report and response within 30 days.Under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, no person or agency can employ anyone for manual scavenging. Violation is punishable under Section 8 with up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, or both.A GMC official said the municipal commissioner had “taken the issue very seriously” and ordered an inquiry. “The findings will be shared with the commission, along with action taken against the erring officials, individual or company,” he addedGMC’s 2,500km drain network is managed by private company WABAG. A company official said the chamber was privately owned and the worker had been engaged by the household. “We have over 2,500 sanitary workers in Ghaziabad and provide them safety gear,” he said.He added that the company could lodge a complaint and FIR against anyone found engaging in manual scavenging, regardless of whether the worker was on its payroll.The scrutiny comes against a grim backdrop. Shiva, a sanitation worker, died on July 14 after allegedly inhaling toxic gases or getting trapped while cleaning a sewer manhole in Noida’s Gejha area. In Nandgram, five workers died of asphyxiation while cleaning a sewer on Aug 23, 2019.A written Lok Sabha reply on July 19 said 332 sanitation workers died between Jan 1, 2021, and June 30, 2026. Of these, seven deaths were reported in Ghaziabad and 13 in Noida.
