Worker dies rescuing brother from septic tank in city mall

A 25-year-old man died of asphyxiation after he entered a septic tank in the premises of a popular mall in the heart of the city to rescue his brother, early on Tuesday morning. After the incident, the police booked the mall management and also the contractor who employed the manual scavengers to carry out the work.

The deceased, S Arun Kumar, was a resident of Anumanthapuram 1st Street, Krishnampet in Ice House in the city.

The fatal incident happened in the premise of Express Avenue mall located in Royapettah. Around 4 am on Tuesday, Ranjith Kumar, who entered the septic tank first, fell unconscious because of the toxic gases accumulated inside. Noticing this, his brother Arun Kumar, too, entered inside hoping to rescue him. Though he managed to take his brother out, Arun Kumar died of asphyxiation. Anna Salai police sent his body to Royapettah GH for autopsy.

The contract to clean the septic tank was taken up by one Dhandapani, who employed Yuvaraj, Ajithkumar, Sreenath and the brothers. Though manual scavenging was banned more than quarter a century ago after the introduction of the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, the practise is continuing unabated across India.

According to the statistics from the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, between 1993 when the ban was introduced to July 5, 2019, Tamil Nadu has recorded the highest number of sewer deaths in India (206).

The police registered a case under 304 (A) (causing death due to negligence), section 9(3) in the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, against contractor Dhandapani and arrested him. The mall management was also booked after seeking legal opinion.