17 such deaths have been reported in 2022
As many as 347 people have died since 2017 due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said on Tuesday.
Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar noted that 92 such deaths were recorded in 2017, 67 in 2018, 116 in 2019, 19 in 2020, 36 in 2021 and 17 deaths in 2022.
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.