Optimising the obsolete
June 20, 2026

Citizens’ Commission For

Equality & Human Rights (CCEHR)

 

Special Report on avoidable deaths of sanitation workers engaged in manual cleaning of raw sewage gutters.

June 19, 2026

Unfortunate, cruel and avoidable loss of precious lives while working in raw sewage gutters.

 

  1. Pakistan is witnessing a rapid upsurge in the deaths and injuries of private sanitation workers deployed in the barbaric practice of entering and cleaning of raw sewage gutters – a primary responsibility of government departments such as Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) or Water and Sewerage Authorities (WASA) of respective cities. While many deaths in small towns are never reported, placed below is the confirmed record of the last 9 months, of the loss of lives in different towns as reported by leading newspapers and verified by direct contacts with families.

 

  1. Karachi, Usmanabad, 3 deaths, September 21, 2025

Three private sanitation workers, 22-year-old Vishal, 19-year-old Shahar, and 42-year-old George, lost their lives while attempting to clean the sewage gutters of KWSC on September 21, 2025. They were hired by the Chairman Union Council to perform this task, which was the responsibility of KWSC and ought to have been performed by KWSC workers. They were sent in utter disregard of any notion of safety or support. It is thus, not a case of death by accident but death by gross negligence. No FIR was raised against the Chairman UC or the MD KWSC. A paltry sum was given to the families of the deceased and the matter disposed and forgotten.

 

  1. Karachi, Surjani Town, 3 deaths, April 17, 2026

In an identical incident, three more private sanitation workers, William Masih, Naseer Masih and Waqas Khalid lost their lives while attempting to clean the sewage gutters of KWSC on 17 April 2026. They were hired by the Chairman Union Council to perform this task, which was the responsibility of and ought to have been performed by the KWSC. They were sent in utter disregard of all safety precautions. It is once again not a case of death by accident but death by gross negligence. No FIR was raised against the Chairman UC or the MD KWSC. A paltry sum of Rs 1 million was announced for each family – but never paid. The matter stands disposed and forgotten.

 

  1. Sahiwal, Punjab, 2 deaths, May 4, 2026

Two private sanitation workers, Shakeel Masih and Samar Masih, working through a contractor, lost their lives while attempting to clean the sewage gutters of WASA Sahiwal on May 4, 2026. Both workers were sent down into the manhole with absolutely no safety equipment, no air monitoring and no breathing equipment. Both died due to the heavy concentration of poisonous gases present in the gutter. They became unconscious, were trapped and died before the rescue teams could extract them. No FIR was raised against MD WASA Sahiwal for extreme neglect and incompetence leading to the loss of two innocent lives.

 

  1. Faisalabad, Nawaban Wala, Punjab, 1 death 1 injured, May 7, 2026

Shabbir Masih (33 years old, father of three), a private daily wager, lost his life on May 7, 2026, while working in a highly toxic and deep sewage gutter operated by WASA Faisalabad. He was made to enter the highly hazardous sewage gutter with zero safety precautions. It was an act of criminal negligence by MD WASA. He failed to provide a safe system and insisted on use of a decadent obsolete and murderous process of pushing exploited human beings into gutters. No FIR was raised against the MD WASA Faisalabad.

 

  1. Faisalabad, Allama Iqbal Industrial Estate, NLC site, 4 deaths, June 5, 2026.

Four workers, Riffatullah Khan, Kifayatullah Khan, Haji Hassan Khan and Dilawar Khan lost their lives while working on sewer drains on June 5, 2026. A case of criminal neglect, no FIR was raised against MD WASA Faisalabad or MD Allama Iqbal Industrial Estate.

 

  1. Lodhran Jalalpur Mor, 2 deaths, June 10, 2026

Two sanitation workers Waseem and Ikram lost their lives while cleaning a gutter in Lodhran on June 10, 2026. Yet another case of criminal neglect. However, it was the first time that the family did not succumb to pressure and gathered enough courage to have an FIR raised against the MD WASA Lodhran.

 

  1. Why No action, penalty, FIR or imprisonment for the Managing Directors of the concerned responsible Water and Sewerage Authorities? Each and every death occurred because of an identical criminal neglect of senior management. The world over, a safety lapse is considered the direct responsibility of the chief executive – who is held personally accountable. Why does Pakistan protect its incompetent, negligent and corrupt bureaucrats? Why is Pakistan happy to gloss over the recurring deaths of its poor, helpless and exploited workers, as if they were not its legitimate citizens?

 

  1. Abolish manual scavenging and entry of workers into sewage gutters.

As members of Citizens’ Commission For Equality & Human Rights (CCEHR), we demand complete eradication and abolition of manual scavenging and entry of workers into sewage gutters – a practice no longer adopted by any civilised country. Machines and mechanical equipment must be used instead to perform the task so inhumanely relegated to human beings. We demand that the prohibition of entry into sewage gutters be brought into force by an Act of Parliament. We also demand that any violation of this law must result in heavy fines and prison terms for the head of the organisation where this barbaric activity takes place.

Sincerely,

Sara Malkani      Naeem Sadiq      Dr. Kartar Dawani      Tahera Hasan