HUNDREDS of contract workers engaged by local bodies and water supply and sewerage boards in major cities and towns to clean underground sewers virtually walk into death traps. A large number of them die instantaneously after inhaling noxious fumes in the sewers. Others die a slow death from respiratory and neurological ailments. Human rights organisations and trade unions have time and again criticised the inhuman practice of employing people in hazardous jobs such as these. Most people employed for the dehumanising work are Dalits. The High Courts of Delhi and Gujarat have issued directions to stop manual sewer cleaning. The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis and the National Human Rights Commission have also come up against the obnoxious system. Yet the practice continues unabated in different parts of the country. Issues relating to the safety and rights of sewer workers, mainly belonging to the Arunthathiyar community, a Dalit sub-caste, came to the fore in Tamil Nadu recently following an order by the Madras High Court on November 20, 2008. Hearing a public interest petition, the court ordered that the