A total of 315 persons died cleaning sewers and septic tanks in the last five years in the country, with Haryana witnessing 43 such deaths, the Centre has informed the Parliament. The government further said that seven states — Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat and Rajasthan — accounted for 77.5 per cent of such deaths from 2021 to 2025, with Maharashtra witnessing a maximum of 53 deaths.“Maharashtra recorded 53 deaths of sanitation workers, Haryana 43, Tamil Nadu 38, Uttar Pradesh 35, Delhi 26, Gujarat 25, while Rajasthan saw 24 deaths during the said period,” Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale told the Rajya Sabha. He added that no caste-wise data on sanitation workers’ deaths was maintained.The minister was replying to a question by CPM MP John Brittas. Commenting on the reply, Brittas said the staggering figures had demolished all claims of “elimination” of hazardous manual cleaning.“The number of sewer deaths point to systemic failures in enforcement, mechanisation and safety compliance. These are not accidents, but preventable, repeated and institutional failures,” Brittas added.The Rajya Sabha MP also hit out at the government for having no caste-based data of sanitation workers. “Refusing to record such data conceals the social reality behind these deaths, weakens accountability, and undermines any meaningful or targeted policy response,” he added.