Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand are among the States and Union Territories that have the highest number of districts yet to declare themselves as manual scavenging free, according to data submitted by the Social Justice Ministry in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
In response to multiple questions related to deaths caused by manual scavenging or hazardous cleaning of sewers, the Union government said that India had seen no deaths due to manual scavenging in the last five years, while adding that 330 people had died while being engaged in cleaning sewers and septic tanks.
The Ministry said that a total of 530 districts across the country had so far reported themselves to be free of manual scavenging with the rest yet to do so. The Ministry added that the practice of manual scavenging is no longer continued in the country.
