A 25-year-old Dalit man from Avadi, Tamil Nadu, tragically died from asphyxiation on Sunday, August 11, while cleaning an underground sewer. The victim, identified as Gopinath from Arunthathipuram, was employed on a contract basis by the Avadi City Municipal Corporation.
The incident occurred on Kurinji Street in Avadi, where four contractual workers were addressing a sewer blockage. According to police reports, Gopinath descended into the sewer but soon began to struggle for breath after inhaling toxic gas, which caused him to lose consciousness.
The Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue services were immediately notified. A team arrived on the scene and extricated Gopinath from the sewer. He was taken to a nearby government hospital, where he was unfortunately declared dead. His body has since been sent to Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for an autopsy.
The Avadi police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) under section 105 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with other relevant sections. However, the case has not been classified as manual scavenging, and details regarding the accused have not been disclosed.
According to the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, a “manual scavenger” is defined as a person who manually handles human excreta in various forms and settings. This definition does not extend to cleaning sewers or septic tanks. The Act specifies that hazardous cleaning involves manual cleaning of a sewer or septic tank without proper protective gear and safety measures provided by the employer. This narrow definition allows employers to employ workers under hazardous conditions without adequate safety measures.
