LAHORE: The government of Punjab has barred sanitation workers from opening or entering manholes until levels of toxic gas and oxygen have been tested, under new safety rules approved by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif after a series of deaths in the province’s sewers.
The standard operating procedures were drawn up by a committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo. No worker may go down without full protective clothing and safety equipment, and work sites must be marked with barriers, warning boards and traffic signs.
Jetting and suction machines may only be run by trained staff, and desilting is not allowed without a sanitary supervisor present. Entry into a manhole now requires prior approval under a permit-to-work system.
Even in an emergency, nobody may enter a confined space without the required equipment, and Rescue 1122 must be called immediately if something goes wrong. Workers will receive regular training, and periodic mock drills have been ordered.
Sahoo said there would be no compromise on the safety of sanitary workers and that the measures would be strictly enforced.
The rules follow repeated fatalities. In July, two sanitation workers died while cleaning a sewer in Chishtian, prompting the chief minister to seek a report. In August, a child died after falling into a manhole in Lahore’s Hanjarwal.
Rights groups including Amnesty International have raised alarm over sanitation workers dying without basic safety gear in Pakistan. They have long pointed out that the work falls disproportionately on members of the Christian community, who make up a large share of the country’s sweepers and sewer cleaners.
The SOPs as released do not set penalties for violations, say who will supply gas detectors, or state whether they bind private contractors working for municipal bodies, many of whom employ sanitation staff directly.
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