Odisha govt sets up ERSUs in ULBs for safety of sanitation workers

BHUBANESWAR, Odisha: The Odisha state government has informed the High Court that Emergency Response Sanitation Units (ERSUs) have been set up in all urban local bodies (ULBs) to ensure the implementation of the practice of manual scavenging and safety protocols prescribed for undertaking hazardous operations.

Manual scavenging is banned under the Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The affidavit was placed before the court while hearing a PIL registered suo motu by it under the title “Deaths of Sanitation Workers” on April 19, 2021, after two tragic deaths in Cuttack City and Bhubaneswar.

Durgesh Nandini Sahoo, Additional Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, Government of Odisha, filed the affidavit in pursuance to the response the court had sought regarding complying with the SOP issued by the Central government for cleaning of sewers and septic tanks in the state.

In the affidavit, Sahoo said each ERSU is headed by a responsible sanitation authority while private organisations providing sanitation services have been registered with the ULBs. The ULBs are being encouraged both financially and physically to migrate to mechanised cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.

Sahoo also stated that the state has floated a dedicated scheme ‘Garima’ for the safety and dignity of the sanitation workers who come in direct contact with faecal matter frequently.