"347 people died while cleaning sewers, septic tanks in last 5 years: Centre", 20 July 2022

As many as 347 people have died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in India in the last five years, with Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi accounting for 40% of these fatalities, according to government data.

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Manual scavenging is a banned practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act, 2013. The Act bans the use of any individual for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta till its disposal.

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The Social Justice and Empowerment Minister added that the government has formulated 'National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE)' scheme which aims to bring the number of such fatalities to zero, and ensure that all sanitation work is performed by skilled workers and no sanitation workers come in direct contact with human faecal matter.