NHRC notice to Haryana govt over sewer deaths in Faridabad

The National Human Rights Commission NHRC has issued a notice to Haryana government in connection with the death of four persons allegedly after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a sewer tank of a private hospital in Faridabad.The NHRC said it has taken a suo motu cognizance of a media report about the incident that took place on Wednesday.The NHRC has issued notices to the chief secretary of Haryana and the director general of police, calling for a detailed report within four weeks.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to Haryana government in connection with the death of four persons allegedly after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a sewer tank of a private hospital in Faridabad.

The NHRC said it has taken a suo motu cognizance of a media report about the incident that took place on Wednesday.

The NHRC has issued notices to the chief secretary of Haryana and the director general of police, calling for a detailed report within four weeks. The report is expected to include the measures that the government has already taken or is likely to be taken to prevent such gross violation of the human rights of poor and underprivileged people, who are susceptible to be employed for this type of manual scavenging without any mechanical device by the public/private organizations, the human rights body said. The authorities have also been directed to inform about the status of the FIR registered in the matter and compensation, if any, given to the kin of the deceased persons.

Issuing the notices, the NHRC has observed that in spite of specific judgments given by the Supreme Court and guidelines issued from time to time by different government agencies, the sewage cleaning workers are still being exposed to extreme danger and subjected to indignity.

The commission had also issued an advisory on the 'protection of human rights' of the person engaged in the 'hazardous cleaning' of a septic tank on September 24 last year.

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