25 sanitation workers die while cleaning drains in Gujarat over five years despite legal ban

At least 25 sanitation workers have died while cleaning drains and sewers in Gujarat over the past five years, raising serious concerns over the continued violation of laws prohibiting manual scavenging.

Under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, local authorities and individuals are barred from assigning hazardous cleaning of septic tanks and sewers to any worker. Despite this, sanitation workers in Gujarat and several other states continue to undertake such work without adequate safety measures.

The Act defines a “manual scavenger” as a person engaged in manually cleaning, carrying or disposing of human excreta from insanitary latrines, open drains or pits. It also explicitly prohibits hazardous cleaning in septic tanks and sewers.

Experts attribute the fatalities primarily to exposure to toxic gases and the absence of protective equipment. Sewers often contain harmful gases such as hydrogen sulphide, methane and carbon monoxide, which can cause instant suffocation upon inhalation.

Data indicates that Gujarat’s death toll in such incidents is higher compared to several larger states, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Karnataka, where no worker deaths were reported in sewer cleaning operations in 2025.