Centre says no death reported due to manual scavenging, activists decry govt response

The government does not identify deaths due to manual scavenging and instead calls them deaths due to hazardous cleaning of septic tanks and sewers

No death has been reported due to manual scavenging, the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has told Parliament, drawing sharp reaction from activists who said that those people were being robbed of dignity even in their deaths. Manual scavenging is banned under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale has said 66,692 manual scavengers were identified.