A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and sought response on the issue.
Photo: IANS
Taking a suo motu cognizance of the two deaths reported from the Mundka area of Outer Delhi last week during the cleaning of a drain, the Delhi High Court, on Monday, issued notice to the concerned departments.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and sought response on the issue.
The matter would be heard next on September 21.
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“Let a PIL be registered in the matter. Notice to be issued to MCD, GNCTD and Delhi Jal Board,” the court ordered.
“There is a Supreme Court judgment on the subject, which says that the moment the death takes place of a person, who is manually doing this scavenging work, the family is entitled to certain assistance plus a job to one of the members of the family,” Chief Justice Sharma added.
Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao was appointed as amicus curiae in the matter to assist the court.
According to media reports, two persons namely Rohil Chandiliya (32) and Ashok Kumar (30) died while trying to clear the blockage of sewer line through manhole on September 9, in a DDA Flats society located in the area of Mundka.
During inquiry, it came to the fore that Rohit, a private sweeper of the society, went inside a manhole to clear the blockage of a sewer line, but he turned unconscious, after inhaling toxic gases inside. Upon this, the security guard of the society, Ashok Kumar, immediately went into the pit in a bid to save Rohit. However, he too felt dizzy and got trapped inside, after getting affected by toxic fumes.
Later, after an hour-long rescue operation, both of them were pulled out from the drain and rushed to a nearby hospital, where both of them were declared dead.
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