TWO sanitation workers, 17-year-old Vanesh and 35-year-old Ramesh, tragically died while cleaning an underground tank at a building in Bhimpura, Karachi, on Sept 10. These deaths occurred exactly in the same manner and for exactly the same reason as the deaths that occur week after week in the sewage gutters of Pakistan. Cruelly exploited sanitation workers, compelled by poverty, are made to enter raw gutters to clean faecal matter with their bare hands, under barbaric and inhumane conditions. Some never come out alive. Those who make it back to the surface emerge with bruises, cuts and wounds with the filth having permeated not just their bodies, but their entire existence.
More than two dozen sanitation workers have died in sewage gutters across Pakistan this year. They were unknown privately contracted individuals, not listed as employees of any organisation. No individual or organisation was held accountable for gross criminal negligence. The families of the deceased were silenced by giving a few thousand rupees to sign a certificate that they shall not pursue any legal action. The unconcerned state looked the other way, as if nothing ever happened. There were no investigations, no FIRs, nor any compensation. Those who caused these deaths continued to live a life of luxury and were never held accountable.
In a landmark judgment delivered on Aug 13, 2026, the Bombay High Court declared that the families of deceased sanitation workers would be compensated by the state or the government agency, even if the death occurred because of work undertaken by a private contractor. This direction unequivocally places the compensation obligation on government entities and not private employers, thus protecting vulnerable families from running after the reluctant private entities for compensation. The court also determined the compensation value at Rs30 lakhs per deceased worker.
How come no one in Pakistan questioned the fact that none of the two dozen sanitation workers who died this year were employees of the government departments who are paid billions to do this job. Should we not ask as to why we have parked highly paid managing directors in dysfunctional organisations such as Karachi or Hyderabad Water and Sewerage Corporations or the Water and Sanitation Agencies of Punjab? Why does no one in Pakistan question the uncomfortable paradox: how come all those who died were non-Muslims?
Vulnerable citizens cannot be left to die because of negligence.
Globally, the practice of sending workers into sewerage systems for cleaning and desilting has been largely eliminated and replaced by mechanised equipment and modern technologies. Several countries including India have also enacted legal prohibitions against such practices, recognising them as incompatible with human dignity and occupational safety. Pakistan today possesses both the technology and the capacity to adopt safer alternatives. Mechanical sewer-cleaning equipment is now readily available, while major utility organisations already possess fleets of mechanised cleaning vehicles.
Pakistan cannot continue to practise cruelty and inhumanity in dealing with its minorities and its most vulnerable citizens. They cannot be left to die because of the negligence, incompetence or criminal failure of individuals and organisations. A state that has achieved distinction in high-speed legislation can easily and urgently pass a bill that states: “No worker shall be required or permitted to enter sewage gutters, manholes, drains, or septic tanks for the purpose of cleaning, desilting, or removing blockages. Such activities shall be carried out through mechanical means and equipment.” Any order, instruction or permission to enter a sewage gutter for cleaning could be declared a cognizable offence, and the head of the organisation made to bear direct legal responsibility.
A nation with the slightest conscience, humanity or remorse must begin by legislating the above-mentioned prohibition and ordering a judicial inquiry to investigate all deaths that took place in the last one year. The state must register FIRs against the responsible organisations and individuals, even where a settlement was reached with the families of the deceased. If the families of Gul Plaza victims could be compensated by Rs10 million each, why can the state not exemplify the same generosity for its non-Muslim citizens? The adoption of these measures could demonstrate our nation’s forgotten commitment to human rights, occupational safety, and social justice. Must the healing of our most oppressed, brutalised and broken people not be our first step towards building a progressive Pakistan?
Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2026
