Urban News

The Deccan Chronicle  06.12.2010

Coimbatore, Dec. 5: Despite the High Court banning manual removal of sewage blocks two years ago, the Coimbatore Corporation has not fully complied with the order.
Though the civic body recently purchased three new vehicles for `53.5 lakh to clear blocked sewers, workers are still being forced to clean manholes and sewerage lines manually. “Most of the times the suction tube of the vehicle can be fitted only by getting into the drain. The silt and sewage also has to be taken out manually from the manholes,” said a 37-year-old labourer.
In addition, the labourers who have to enter the sewer lines to remove blockages do not wear any kind of safety gear. “We feel uneasy and completely breathless while wearing a mask and working in a drain. So we prefer not to wear them,” said a worker.
As recently as two days back, labourers had to get down a drain and manually remove blockages at Uppara Street as machines did not work out there. “Though the civic body bought the machines after the court ordered a ban on deployment of conservancy workers to clean sewers, it is not serving the purpose,” said another labourer.
Garkey, an advocate who fights for the cause of labourers, said it was the responsibility of the authorities to ensure that no humans were allowed inside the drain. “And they need to clear the blocks only with mechanical devices, however the officials never turn up to monitor the work,” he said.
When contacted, a corporation official said sanitary workers had been instructed not to go down the drains to clean sewer blocks. He added that he would look into the issue to ensure that the workers strictly abided by the rules and regulations of the court. “I was not aware of workers removing the sewer blocks manually at Uppara Street. The civic body has plans to deploy one suction vehicle to each of the four zones to remove blocks,” he said.