Sanitation workers hold protest at Jantar Mantar

The protest was attended by sanitation workers, their families and activists who demanded strict implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

42-year-old Satyawati, who joined the protest, said that the demonstration reopened painful old wounds. On March 20, 2009, her brother-in-law, Ashok Kumar, lost his life while cleaning a septic tank in north Delhi’s Narela.

“He worked with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) as a cleaning staff. His routine work entailed collecting garbage. He left home for work, but didn’t return. Later, we received a call stating that Ashok went to clean a septic tank and never returned,” said Satyawati, a resident of Dwarka.