The move comes in the backdrop of death of 10 sanitation workers within two months, while cleaning drains and sewers manually.
Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal on Monday directed officials of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the three municipal corporations to mechanise the entire process of sewer and drain cleaning within the next 15 days.
The move comes in the backdrop of death of 10 sanitation workers within two months, while cleaning drains and sewers manually.
Baijal chaired a high-level meeting with officials of DJB, north, south, and east MCDs, and the PWD. The meeting was also attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Health Minister Satyendra Jain, and Water Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam, among others.
The L-G asked DJB CEO Keshav Chandra to prepare a regime or a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for cases requiring emergency manual intervention, as per law, within a week's time. "The SOP will be applied to all, including private contractors, group housing society, malls, etc,"read a statement released by the L-G office.
He further said the liability of the employer does not get diluted and asked the government agencies to strictly abide by the law. "The employers must provide gas masks, safety harness belts, helmets, and mechanised equipment, as legally mandated for the hazardous work of cleaning clogged underground sewers, and must ensure strict compliance of relevant guidelines and proper arrangement of safety and security of workers," the statement read.
The L-G also directed the Delhi Police to take stringent and deterrent action against those contractors who violate the law. He will review the progress after two weeks.
In the latest case of sewer deaths, a 45-year-old sanitation worker had died after entering a sewer at the Lok Nayak Hospital without any protective gear on Sunday.
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