Delhi: PWD Engineer Suspended After Photos Of Drain Workers Without Safety Spark Outrage On Social Media

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta asserted that her administration was complying with all court-mandated safety protocols for desilting work

Representational Image | A Delhi PWD official was suspended after images surfaced showing workers desilting drains without safety gear, sparking public outrage.

Source : PTI

A Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) official was suspended on Tuesday after the department faced online criticism for sharing images on X that showed workers desilting drains without any protective gear.

Despite the backlash, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta asserted that her administration was complying with all court-mandated safety protocols for desilting work, as per news agency PTI.

Earlier, the PWD shared four pictures on the social media platform X showing half-naked workers engaged in the cleaning of drains. However, the post was later deleted following social media backlash criticising the government over the apparent apathy towards the safety of the workers.

CM Rekha Gupta Questioned Over Post

After CM Gupta was questioned about the post at a press conference, she clarified that not every drain can be cleaned with machines.

"Every drain has its own situation. At every drain, machines might not be able to work. It might be possible that there was a drain where the machines were not able to work. The government's target is to completely desilt all the drains. The work is being carried out keeping court guidelines in mind," she said.

A senior Public Works Department (PWD) official stated that a junior engineer has been suspended due to workers carrying out desilting tasks without proper safety equipment.

"The work that was being carried out was regarding desilting of a stormwater drain and not a sewer line, hence, it can not be called manual scavenging work. But still, as the workers were seen not operating in complete safety gear, the junior engineer concerned for the work has been suspended for lack of supervision, and other officials have been warned," the official said.

Between 2018 and 2023, over 400 individuals lost their lives while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in India, as per data presented in Parliament in 2023. The year-wise breakdown shows 76 fatalities in 2018, 133 in 2019, 35 in 2020, 66 in 2021, 84 in 2022, and 49 in 2023.