Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) Vice President Prof. Mohammad Salim Engineer has demanded the government to ensure safety of the sanitation workers and make protective equipment mandatory.
The JIH Vice President has said that sanitation workers and sweepers play a key role in keeping localities and streets clean, therefore, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure their safety. “If an agency hires them, sanitation workers should be provided with proper protective equipment,” he added during a meeting with the families of two Dalit workers who died while cleaning the septic tank of a hotel in Ghazipur, Delhi earlier this week.
The deceased Lokesh and Premchand died while cleaning the septic tank of Pearl Grand Banquet Hall. Assuring to offer necessary assistance to the deceased, Engineer Salim has demanded the government to provide them with adequate compensation in case of an accident.
Reiterating his demand to make safety equipment mandatory, across the country, Engineer Salim noted that mostly Dalits were involved in the sanitation work and accidents happened due to non-availability of safety equipment.
Talking to the delegation of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, relatives of the deceased blamed the hotel management for their deaths. They said that both the workers died after exposure to toxic gas, because no safety equipment was provided for cleaning the septic tank. Police have registered a case.