Workers clean drains with bare hands, FIR lodged against company

Bengaluru: A case has been registered at the Commercial Street Police Station against Amruta Construction Company in connection with the case of civic workers cleaning the drains with their bare hands on Infantry Road in Shivajinagar.

Sewage pipe was bursting on Infantry Road in Shivajinagar and sewage was coming out. The stench was emanating from this up to a kilometre away. This filth is cleaned by workers. However, they were not given any safety equipment.

'When I asked the person who was cleaning the sewer pipe why he was doing this work, he said that he was doing it as per the instructions of Ravi. Ravi, who had reached there by that time, said that he had assigned workers for the cleaning work on behalf of Amruta Construction Company' said social activist Vinay Srinivas who added that an FIR has been registered and a complaint has been filed.

'There is no manhole on Infantry Road in Shivajinagar. A drainage pipe in the footpath was leaking and sewage was coming out. This would cause problems for neighbouring apartments. The workers have cleaned it', said Chief Engineer of Bangalore Smart City Company, Vinayak.

Since 1993, a total of 900 people have died in sewers and manhole cleaning without providing any safety equipment. From 2017 to 2021, 330 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks.