Death of civic worker is beyond shameful

A CCTV captured Jagveer Yadav moments before he was run over

A civic worker in Mumbai was killed after being run over by a car while cleaning a manhole in Kandivli. In an incident that should trigger outrage and shame, this worker fought for his life in a hospital for more than 10 days but succumbed to his injuries.

We should be ashamed, as employing a person for manual scavenging is a punishable offence, yet several instances are still reported nationwide. We have reports about workers dying from manual scavenging.

This law is flouted with impunity. Also, no safety gear is given to these workers.

In a clip shot in Mumbai, we can see two workers cleaning the manhole manually. One is inside the sewer while the other is seen picking up waste and throwing it away.

The worker inside the manhole is bending down but a car runs over the manhole and subsequently him.

Why was this area not barricaded to prevent vehicles from entering? This paper has repeatedly highlighted the importance of safety nets and barricades warning people that infrastructure is being repaired.

We have also stated that there must be appropriate signage and lighting around sites where work is going on. This is a must, especially in this season when it becomes overcast and visibility is compromised.

It is abhorrent that we have our PM going to the USA to talk about cutting-edge tech, gizmos and whatever else while we lack the tools to clean drains and manholes.

We talk about astronauts and great discoveries while labourers are dying while scavenging in this country. Pedestrian safety is compromised where there are no warning signs or basic caution. This is so heinous that a change is needed, not tomorrow, not even a few hours later but today.