New Delhi: The string of tragic deaths of individuals entering sewers in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) continues to rise. In the latest mishap, 35-year-old Noor Islam who had entered a sewer line in Gurugram to clear cloggings died after inhaling deadly gasses.

The deceased wife, Mausami, accused contractor Mukim Ali of being negligent and not providing him safety gear, which is mandatory for manual scavenging.

She urged authorities to take legal action against the contractor. Based on her complaint, a case has been registered against Ali under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The latter imposes penalties for employing workers in hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.

According to the police, two others — Anarul and Chandan Das — also fell ill while attempting to rescue Islam from the sewer. The trio were swiftly taken to nearby Park Hospital by others present at the scene. Unfortunately, Islam passed away during treatment, while Anarul and Chandan Das are currently recovering.

Authorities at the Gurugram Civil Hospital confirmed that all three sanitation workers had been exposed to poisonous gas while cleaning the sewer line.

Gurugram police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar explained, “The sewer line falls under the jurisdiction of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), but the deceased wife is unaware of the agency for which he worked. Mukim Ali was a private contractor. The police are currently attempting to locate him.”

Meanwhile, officials from the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and the GMDA have clarified that they did not hire any sanitation worker for sewer cleaning.

This marks the third fatality during sewer cleaning in Gurugram over the past one year. Earlier, 35-year-old Parizat from Jhajjar in Haryana and 46-year-old Raj Kumar from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh died on November 27 last year, while cleaning a 15-feet deep septic tank at a sewage treatment plant at Rajiv Nagar Condominium in Sector 92. Both individuals were employed by a private agency.

Islam is survived by his wife and two school-going daughters, aged 14 and 10. Mausami works as a domestic help.

Recounting the tragic event, she said, “I learnt about his death at 10:45 pm. By the time I reached the hospital, his body had already been wrapped in white clothes.” The victim’s brother-in-law Rafiq alleged, “The contractor did not inform us about the death. He had left by the time I reached the hospital.”

In a separate incident, three housekeeping workers lost their lives on June 24, 2024 while clearing an overflowing sewer line at an IT company in Noida. The sewage treatment plant was situated in the company’s basement.