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Sewer Deaths Social Audit: Safety Gaps Exposed

23 July 20251 min read
NATIONAL AFFAIRSSewer DeathsSocial Audit:Safety GapsExposed23 July 2025safalsetu.com

Why in the news

A Social Justice Ministry audit, tabled in Parliament in July 2025, exposed gross safety neglect in hazardous sewer cleaning.

Key facts

  • Period studied: 2022-2023.
  • Only 5 victims wore gloves; 1 also had gumboots; just 1 had proper training.
  • Consent was missing in 27 cases; 38 workers were informally hired and only 5 were government-employed.
  • Agencies lacked equipment readiness in 45 cases; awareness drives followed just 7 deaths.

National picture

  • Official count: 150 deaths in 2022-2023.
  • Government says manual scavenging is abolished; focus is hazardous cleaning.
  • Under NAMASTE, a little over half the identified workers got PPE kits.

Exam angle

  • Audit by: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Test yourself

1. The social audit on sewer and septic tank deaths was commissioned by which ministry?

The audit was commissioned by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

2. In the audit of 54 sewer and septic tank deaths, how many workers had no safety equipment?

The audit found 49 of 54 workers had no safety equipment.

3. How many workers have been identified so far under the NAMASTE scheme, according to the government response?

84,902 workers have been identified under NAMASTE.

This topic is part of Daily Current Affairs 23 July 2025 (15 topics).

All topics of the dayDay quizJuly 2025

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