Sanitation workers and activists from across the country assembled in the national capital this week to highlight continuing deaths in sewer and septic tank cleaning, raising urgent questions about worker safety, caste discrimination and state accountability.

The demonstration, held at Jantar Mantar on March 25, 2026, was organised by Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) under the banner “Stop Killing Us” and saw participation from workers and bereaved families representing ten states.

Standing close to the newly built Parliament complex, protesters shouted slogans including “Stop Killing Us”, “End Deaths in Sewers and Septic Tanks” and “Prime Minister, Apologise to the Nation”, turning the gathering into both a memorial for those who died and a collective call for justice.

Families of sanitation workers who lost their lives while cleaning sewers joined activists to demand structural reforms and enforcement of existing laws banning manual scavenging.

Participants described the situation as a national contradiction — a country capable of technological advances and space missions, yet still dependent on human labour in hazardous underground spaces widely described by activists as “death traps”.

Speakers argued that sanitation workers continue to be denied their constitutional Right to Live with Dignity (RL-21), despite longstanding legal prohibitions against manual scavenging.

According to figures presented by SKA, sewer deaths remain severely undercounted. The organisation stated that 41 sanitation workers have already died in the first 80 days of 2026. It recorded 121 deaths in 2025, whereas official government data listed only 46. Activists alleged that statistical discrepancies conceal the true scale of the crisis and delay meaningful intervention.

Manual scavenging, though outlawed in 1993 and reinforced through a strengthened 2013 rehabilitation law, continues to be reported in several states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir.

SKA leader Deepthi Sukumar questioned the disparity between official and independent data, stating, “In 2025, SKA recorded 121 deaths, but the government reported only 46. In 2024, SKA counted 116 deaths, while the government claimed 55. Where are the missing numbers? Parliament must be told the truth.”

Workers and organisers from different regions — including Rajkumar, Luvjinder Kaur, Poonam, Neelam, Anchal, Pooja, Amar Singh and Usha Sagar — described continued caste-based discrimination in sanitation work and accused local administrations of failing to ensure safe mechanised alternatives.

While the government’s NAMASTE scheme aims to mechanise sanitation work and provide safety gear and training, protesters argued that official acknowledgements themselves reveal a lack of measurable indicators showing whether mechanisation has actually reduced deaths. Activists said the absence of monitoring reflects deeper institutional neglect.

During the protest, representatives submitted a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister demanding a “national apology” for sewer deaths and decades of caste-based oppression.

The letter called for a time-bound national plan to end deaths in sewers and septic tanks, complete rehabilitation of those engaged in manual scavenging, accurate disclosure of mortality data, and strict enforcement of laws prohibiting such employment. 
The memorandum was signed by Ramon Magsaysay awardee Bezwada Wilson, national convenor of the SKA movement.

As the gathering concluded, demonstrators reiterated that their struggle is not only about workplace safety but about dignity, equality and recognition of sanitation workers’ constitutional rights, insisting that ending sewer deaths must become an immediate national priority rather than a recurring tragedy acknowledged only after lives are lost.