Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Friday said that the death of two workers due to asphyxiation after they entered a drain in Chennai only shows the society’s indifference.

In a statement, Mr. Haasan recalled a similar incident in July 2 in Thoothukudi district where 4 workers died.

“While it (manual scavenging) was banned in 1993, certain amendments were made in 2013 making it a compulsory ban.

“In 2014, the Supreme Court had urged the State government to ban manual scavenging and rehabilitate the workers involved.

Despite this, around 206 workers have died between 1993 and 2019,” he said.

Mr. Haasan said that statistics show how the State government disregarded the lives of the workers and the Supreme Court’s directives.

“We must ban manual scavenging. It is our duty to prevent another human being from experiencing such injustice,” he said.