The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday sought a reply from the state government by June 25 on whether manual scavenging is still prevalent in the state or not, and what actions have been taken by it to curb the inhuman practice. The reply was sought by the division bench of Justice SR Brahmbhatt and Justice AP Thaker during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a community-based organisation Manav Garima working for the rights of manual scavengers in Gujarat.
Counsel for the petitioner organisation Hirak Ganguly pointed out the recent death of seven persons on June 15 inside a septic tank of a hotel in Dabhoi taluka of Vadodara due to asphyxiation, while cleaning it.