Three workers die while cleaning septic tank in Delhi's Mundka
Three workers died after inhaling toxic gasses while cleaning a septic tank in Delhi's Mundka Industrial Area recently.
The tragedy has put a spotlight on how unsafe conditions still exist in parts of the city, especially in nonconforming areas (basically, unplanned industrial zones without proper sewage or water systems).
Manual sewage cleaning banned yet continues
Mundka is just one of 26 neglected zones in Delhi waiting for redevelopment, but workers there still face risky jobs.
Even though manual sewage cleaning is banned by law, it keeps happening because many unauthorized colonies lack proper sewer lines: 564 out of 1,799 rely on septic tanks.
Activists say at least 12 similar deaths have happened this year alone.
Plans for safer cleaning machines are delayed, and as Bezwada Wilson from Safai Karamchari Andolan puts it, these preventable deaths show why urgent action is needed to protect workers' dignity and lives.