New Delhi: Soni was going to deliver lunch around 1 pm to her husband who was working as a labourer in northwest Delhi, but she was in for a rude shock. “When I reached the location, I could not find anyone there,” Soni, the wife of Sher Singh, 30, said. “When I looked into the septic tank, I saw that all the five persons were lying there. I started shouting, but nobody came to rescue.” Two contractual workers died after apparently inhaling toxic gas when they entered the septic tank of a semi-built plot in Bhagya Vihar area of Prem Nagar in Rohini on Tuesday. Soni’s husband was among three persons who are hospitalised. Soni said her sister’s husband came there and entered the tank after tying a rope around his west, and pulled the persons out of the tank.
Also Read: In A First, Manual Scavengers Release A Manifesto Ahead Of The Lok Sabha Elections
They called the ambulance and took them to a hospital, the mother of four said, adding that Sher Singh is the sole breadwinner. Soni said among the injured persons, Rambir is her brother-in-law. Jaya Vardha, the sister of Sher Singh and Rambir said,
After getting the information regarding the incident at around 1.15 pm, I rushed the spot and cried for help but no one came forward.
“We somehow managed to call the police and ambulance, and immediately rushed them to the hospital,” the 59-year-old said. “My brothers were doing this work for the past 20 years and nothing like this happened before.”
“We got to know that all the victims were wearing masks. Ganesh and Deepak entered the tank first. When they did not come out, Sher Singh, Babloo and Rambir also entered the tank. Soni was the one who first saw them lying inside the tank and called nearby persons for help,” Vardha said.
Also Read: Delhi Strives To Rehabilitate Manual Scavengers; Officials Say Removing Social Stigma Critical
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
