New Delhi:
For the first time, about 4,000 manual scavengers in Delhi will be provided individual safety equipment (PPE) kits before the monsoon season.
The kit will include 42 safety items such as lights, gas protection masks, gumboots, protective fabrics, gloves and helmets with barrier creams such as dangerous gases and skin irritation.
The initiative is part of the Center’s ‘Namast’ (National Action for Mechanized Criticality Ecosystem) scheme launched in 2023-24, which was launched to ensure safe work status, financial assistance and social security benefits for sanitation workers, especially in cleaning sewer and septic tanks.
Delhi’s Social Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj Singh told PTI that about 4,000 scavengers will get PPE kits before the rains start.
He also directed the officials to ensure that all manual scavengers are enrolled under the Ayushman Bharat Health Insurance Scheme.
In addition, departments have been instructed to expedite training and rehabilitation efforts for those involved in manual sewer cleaning and establish adequate emergency response hygiene units, said Indraj Singh.
He said that all district magistrates have been ordered to solve pending compensation cases related to sewer and septic tanks.
The minister said, “Security of every cleanliness worker is our priority. PPE kit and health insurance should be accessed before the monsoon.”
“PPE kit can help reduce health risks, the founder of Safai Karmachari Endolan, Social activist Bezwada Wilson, they do not completely eliminate the dangers faced by manual scavengers.
“This step is welcome, but it still does not stop the deaths of manual scavengers,” Wilson said.
Wilson also reported that the initiative raises concerns under manual scavengers and their rehabilitation act, 2013, which officially banned manual scavenging in India.
He said, “Instead of sending humans to the toxic manhole, the government should focus on introducing machines to clean them,” he said.
Wilson also shared data on the deaths of manual scavengers, stating that around 102 in 2023, 116 in 2024, and 30 died in 2025. In Delhi alone, four workers have died this year, he said.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
