Legal tweak: Editorial on the grey areas in India's manual scavenging law

The Safai Karamchari Andolan said 101 persons died in sewers during the first 188 days of 2026. Union minister Ramdas Athawale told the Lok Sabha that no manual scavenger deaths occurred in five years. However, he admitted 332 sanitation workers died during hazardous cleaning, showing a wide gap in official data.