Gurgaon: Workers engaged in hazardous cleaning of tanks and maintenance work are caught in a deadly cycle of extreme risk and indifference towards their safety, with fatal accidents recurring and accountability remaining elusive. The latest victims were three men who died inside a chemical tank at a city factory on Wednesday, days after three contract workers lost their lives while servicing a wastewater treatment pit at an iPhone components plant near Hosur.According to activists, it is the failure to prosecute those responsible for such deaths, coupled with poor enforcement of workplace safety laws, that has allowed this disregard for workers’ lives to persist.“FIRs are being lodged, but where is the prosecution? It is zero. Not even a single person has been sent to jail,” said Bezwada Wilson, national convener of Safai Karamchari Andolan. Compensation and insurance, he added, were “an eyewash”. “Life is precious and irreparable,” he told TOI.At Sandhar company in Dhumaspur, Naresh Yadav (56), Anil Jha (50) and Mohammad Arif (21) died after entering a chemical tank and inhaling toxic fumes on Wednesday. Their families alleged they lacked protective gear, prompting an FIR against the management under BNS sections 106 (causing death by negligence) and 3(5) (common intention).Anil, a 15-year employee, was due to take leave for Chhath. His wife and elder son had left when he was allegedly called in to clean the tank or lose his leave. “He was the sole breadwinner. The family has lost everything,” said relative Rajnish Jha.Two days earlier, three contract workers died while servicing a wastewater treatment tank at Tata Electronics’ iPhone-component plant near Hosur. One fell inside after being overcome by gas, while two colleagues trying to rescue him were also affected.Haryana recorded 12 deaths during cleaning of septic tanks and sewers in the first half of 2026, against eight in 2025. A total of 98 such deaths were reported over the past decade.Wilson said the Gurgaon case raised critical questions about workers being assigned duties outside their job profiles. “Two of them were not supposed to do this job. One was a welder, another an operator. Job profiles are ignored, labour laws violated and there is no safety,” he said.According to him, the lack of protective equipment reflected how employers and contractors viewed workers from certain communities. “They become visible when they die. Without death, they are not visible at all.” Mechanisation alone, he said, would not end the danger.Surya Prakash, central working committee member of All India Central Council of Trade Unions, said casual and contractual workers were especially vulnerable. “Businesses are busy making money, by whatever means. People have died. But is anyone ready to talk? Is there a grievance mechanism for workers?” he asked.Many contractual workers lack identity cards and appointment letters, leaving families unsure about who employed them or who was responsible for their deaths, he pointed out.Prakash called for inspections of actual working conditions, including exposure to fumes and access to protective equipment, rather than paperwork checks. Wilson said existing laws must be enforced and prevention prioritised. “Rules and regulations exist for procedures after death, but prevention is completely lacking,” he said.
