Six men tragically died after inhaling poisonous gases while manually scavenging gutters for raw sewage in Sargodha and Tando Muhammad Khan on June 11 and 12. The gutters were clogged by waste carelessly thrown by people like us. These men did not die of natural causes; they were victims of extreme poverty, helplessness, and the demeaning work conditions imposed upon them. They were neither paid minimum wage nor registered with any social security entity, facing discrimination and deprivation of their rights by society. On the eve of Eidul Azha, a day symbolizing sacrifice, joy, and generosity, we should reflect on our lack of compassion for fellow human beings who suffer and die daily because of an insensitive and inhumane system.
We should unite to pressure the state and the government of Pakistan to stop the practice of manually cleaning sewage gutters. The government, which recently increased the salaries of its grade 17 to 22 officers, should instead use these resources to pay legal wages to sanitation workers, manufacture necessary suction machines, and ensure no Pakistani citizen is forced to enter a sewage gutter ever again. Sanitation workers are human beings, deserving of respect and fair treatment.
NAEEM SADIQ
KARACHI