Tamil Nadu: Dalit man dies after falling into manhole while cleaning sewage tank

Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links

A 40-year-old Dalit contract sanitation worker died, on Sunday, June 8, after accidentally falling into a manhole while trying to clear a sewage blockage behind the Tiruchendur Government Hospital in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district. The deceased, identified as Sudalaimani from Aladipatti village in Tirunelveli district, was employed on contract by the Tiruchendur Municipality.

According to police, Sudalaimani and a team of sanitation workers were deployed Sunday morning to clear a blockage in the underground drainage system behind the hospital. While trying to enter the manhole to address the issue, Sudalaimani reportedly slipped and fell into the sewage water.

Fire and Rescue Services personnel were alerted and rushed to the scene, pulling him out of the manhole. He was immediately taken to Tiruchendur Government Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. His body was later sent to Thoothukudi Government Medical College and Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Speaking to TNM, Tiruchendur Taluk police said that a first information report (FIR) has been registered under section 194 (accidental death) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). However, the incident has not been classified as manual scavenging.

Under The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, Section 2(g) defines a “manual scavenger” as someone who manually cleans, carries, disposes of, or handles human excreta in insanitary latrines, open drains, or pits into which insanitary latrines dispose of waste, or on railway tracks or similar premises. Notably, this definition excludes sewers and septic tanks.

The Act separately defines “hazardous cleaning” of sewers or septic tanks as “manual cleaning” done without providing workers protective gear, cleaning devices, or safety precautions. It also states that workers who clean excreta using devices or protective equipment are not considered manual scavengers. This narrow and ambiguous definition is often exploited by employers to continue the practice of manual scavenging under the guise of legality.