Sir - It is horrifying that even in the 21st century we are witnessing deaths due to the lack of safety measures for manual scavengers. In spite of having stringent penal provisions against manual scavenging, the practice continues unabated in India.

The death of three sanitation workers who suffocated while cleaning sewers in Delhi is a case in point.

It is time the government took these deaths seriously and ensured that manual scavenging is stopped altogether.

Sir, It is a horrifying truth, that in this civilised world and in 21st century India, we are witnessing so many deaths due to the abysmal state of inadequate safety gear during under ground cleaning by way of manual scavenging,Despite country having the stringent penal provision in the law agaisnt manual scavenging , but this practise continue unhindered in all parts of India and these poor sanitary workers keep dying due to suffocation.

Infact every few days, there are horrific reports of deaths due to manual underground cleaning,which are the heart rending tales of the nature of the work and the helpless victims dying due to suffocation in the absence of inadequate safety gears,still this hazardous occupation of manual scavenging continues unhindered,even in which local bodies,who have large funds at their disposals.

The tragic death of 3 sanitation workers,inhaling toxic fumes while manually scanning sewer line in Lajpat Nagar area ,in the national capital delhi, highlights the horror of manual scavenging in the country,is sad and it is a blot on our country, it brings to fore that as a nation we have failed in, in fact there is no will or support to eliminate this inhuman profession of manual scavenging in the country, A determined approach to end this scourge,requires a campaign agaisnt this menace beside stringent punishment against those contractors or government agencies who carry out this manual scavenging ,

It is time ,governmnet takes every unfortunate death of sanitary worker seriously and sees that manual scavenging is stopped, and workers goes down only with adequate safety gears. As they are poor ,hence enough compensation be paid to those who have died in this delhi accident,so that their families don't suffer from poverty.

Sir, In two unfortunate incidents ,a TV lost her life while a woman after a tree fell on her head while a famous woman biker met her fate when she tried to avoid a pothole and got crushed under the wheel of truck.

These incidents highlights the dire need by authorities to pay attention to issue of civic safety.

To avoid such unspeakable tragedies ,it is imperative that charge of culpable homicide be slapped on consultants,contractors and civic officials.

There has been a big outrage over this incident and everybody prayed for the safety of baby Mahi. In the past, a lot of such incidents happened and they had gone unreported; but now with an active media, these incidents come to light and they get the deserved attention. The instances of children falling into uncapped borewells have raised several questions. This is an abject failure on part of the district administrations. They should learn lessons from each such incident and take preventive steps, including mapping and capping of open borewells/manholes.

The Supreme Court had issued specific directions to all district administrations to take effective measures to prevent children from falling into these “virtual death traps” and asked them to cap all these functional and non-functional bore wells and put fencing around them. Any negligence, it had said, should be dealt with sternly and criminal proceedings should be initiated. If only the instructions of the court were followed in letter and spirit, hapless small children like Mahi would not have to sacrifice their lives due to the sheer negligence of the authorities concerned.

For the past few days, India’s attention was on the rescue efforts to save baby Mahi who was trapped in an open borewell that was more than 86 feet deep, for more than three days.

There was a huge outrage in the country over this incident and everybody prayed for Mahi’s safety. The government of Haryana did a commendable job, which caught the nation’s attention. But all in vain. Even rescue operations headed by the Indian Army’s highly experienced engineering regiment aided by engineers from Delhi Metro could not save the child. In countries like India, lot 
of such accidents happen but they go unreported. With the onset of active media, such incidents are getting noticed.

However, the question remains as to why such accidents occur so frequently? Why are such borewells left un-capped? Why do we as a nation take safety precautions so lightly?

The Supreme Court has very clearly issued directions to cap all these functional and non-functional wells and to fence them. Any negligence should be dealt with sternly.

If the instructions of the Supreme Court were followed in letter and spirit, small and hapless children like Mahi would have been safe.

The accidental death of a re-tired officer of the Indian Air Force Jail Vayu Towers was tragic. There is a question mark on the safety of elevators in high rise buildings. The reasons behind such mishaps may vary, but human safety should be of paramount importance. In Bangalore, we see a large number of sky-scrapers coming up, but it is indeed shocking that there is a no proper inspection mechanism and stringent regulation of elevators.

Due to lack of proper supervision, they continue to pose a danger in human lives and we continue to see accidents and people losing lives due to criminal negligence. The design of lifts should be verified by qualified elector-mechanical consultants and installation should only be carried out by trained At least, one expert should be stationed at all buildings with lifts.

Apropos the Sanjana case, this is not the first time precious life has been lost due to the apathy of civic officials. This wall collapse could have been avoided had BBMP engineering consultants checked whether the wall met technical standards. These accidents will continue unless the judiciary comes down heavily on such agencies and asks them to pay hefty damages. Stringent charges of culpable homicide should be slapped on consultants, contractors and on civic authorities when such incidents happen. Only t can we prevent them.

The tragic incident wherein a schoolgirl drowned in a pool has come as a shocker for the parents of all schoolchildren, a Better safety regulations during school excursions are of a great concern. The incident was yet another example of the pathetic standards of safety at such places. This was not an isolated incident as such incidents have occurred earlier too. Every time such a thing happens, the media reports it promptly, but the issue soon fades out from the people's memory. To avoid such incidents, the schools should avoid taking children to holiday resorts. Instead, the students can be taken to a museum or zoo. The fact that death at the pool happened has nothing to do with lack of laws or regulations, the issue is their implementation . The schools need to ensure that children safety is not taken for granted as even a minor lapse may result in loss of life.

The accidental death of a retired IAF officer at Jal Vayu Towers, was unfortunate and could have been avoided (Faulty lift costs man his life, March 8). Bangalore being the IT capital of India, has a large number of skyscrapers coming up every month and what is shocking is the fact that there is a no proper check on the constructions. The lack of supervision poses a danger to human lives and is nothing less than criminal negligence. It is the duty of the authorities concerned, to ensure the safety of people who work and reside in multi storied buildings, irrespective of who own building.

Apropos the sanjan case, this is not the first time precious life has been lost due to the apthy of civic official. This wal collapse could have been avoided had BBMP engineering consultants checked whether the wall met technical standards. These accidents will continue unless the judiciary comes down heavily on such agencies and asks them to pay hfty damages.

Stringent charges of culpable homicide should be slapped on consultants, contractors and on civic authorities when such incidents happen. Only then can we prevent them.