 Hello friends, I am Bhasha and today I am going to talk with you on a very burning issue. It's about seaver and septic tank deaths which are happening across the country and there is a campaign which is going across the country. It has already covered 100 days. Stop killing us. Here, the community who is engaged in cleaning of seaver and septic tank, they are coming to streets around 18 states. They are raising just in single voice that the government should give answer to them why their life, Dalit life doesn't matter for this government. And in this campaign across the country just the single and simple question is being asked that why when we are talking about 75 years of glorified Indian independence and the way forward, why Indian citizens are forced to clean seaver and septic tank manually and die there. We are going to talk about this campaign in detail how it started from national capital, Delhi on 11th May and still it's going on. On this issue we had talked to different activists who are running in the streets raising their slogans and raising the basic demand. They are asking right to live, right to live with dignity and there should be no caste barricades or discrimination which is much prevalent in the country right now. We went to Deepthi Sukumar. She is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She is heading the whole campaign there and there she is able to make some interventions with the legal fraternity. Tamil Nadu High Court is very responsive. Let's ask to her why there at least this difference has been created why the judiciary is listening to them. Let's go and have a word and just ask what is all about stop killing us. Deepthi, welcome to news click. I just wanted to know your experience about stop killing us when you were crossing the High Court. What was the reaction from the High Court and from the people? I would like to know that when in Chennai we started this campaign in Chennai on the 16th of this month and not 16th I'm sorry on the 13th of this month 13th of August we started this campaign and it has been going on. In fact it was the last day of the campaign that we were having in a place called Aminji Kare in Chennai. So as we were going to that place we received a phone call from our advocate. We have filed a PIL in the High Court in Chennai High Court in Madras High Court. This has been filed about almost six years ago and the court is and the case is still ongoing. So in fact there was a hearing scheduled even last month which got adjourned to this month and that time our advocate called us while we were on the way to Aminji Kare saying that just outside the High Court right then as we were traveling to this campaign there were two young men who were inside a sewer for cleaning out a sewer and were fully immersed and we also just outside the main gate of the High Court just opposite the main gate. So there is no way that anybody can miss that site even as they're walking up I know on on that road or even entering the court premises also you cannot miss that site. So he called us and we were in Aminji Kare. We were going to Aminji Kare. Aminji Kare is a different part of the city and he said right now there is this thing happening in the in front of the Madras High Court. So then we were having a discussion and immediately Safa Karmancharya Antolan team has rushed to the spot there and those two men we have taken the details we've collected all the content and in the meantime our advocate also he immediately went to the Chief Justice and he asked and he informed the Chief Justice he made a comment to the Chief Justice saying that this is happening and a case also the same thing to prevent the entry of human beings into sewer lines and manholes and septic tanks. So this kind of you know the Chief Justice also was taken was quite shocked that you know there is so much of this absolute contempt of court and contempt of humanity everything. So he was very shocked and immediately he passed an order that they must stop the work immediately and he was very angry so he has now I think given the and he wanted to have the hearing on Thursday immediately the next day after we saw this you know the hearing that has been that is being adjourned. So then I think the attorney general that is the AG of Tamil Nadu state they are not prepared already so they have said they are not prepared already so we want some more time to respond because I think the Chief Justice came on very heavily on them and said you need to give us some answer why this kind of thing is continuing when the case is still going on you are giving the responses but this on the one side it is still going so what what is the meaning of this. So now they have asked for daily Monday so we are having the hearing on Monday so now I think Monday we need to go and find out even in this campaign also when we have been having this campaign for stop killing us in all of these seven places locations in Chennai where we have done this campaign the community is the one who has organized the entire thing because the community is really fed up for them you know they are saying enough is enough because in Tamil Nadu if you see though the deaths are going on the deaths are coming people are still entering in receptive times and even though there is this there is the kind of scenario where there is missionary and they are saying that they have spent so much of you know money on buying machinery and mechanization but it is why people are still dying and we don't see that happening anywhere you know machines that are really cleaning out this kind of the sewerage and so to do the sewerage work so the people are also fed up and they have been asking for some you know some some immediate action from the government to take steps to stop this immediately. Court reacts to this, we are not able to see such a reaction in North India in North India. Why do you think there are more responses from the government from the judiciary in South and specifically in Tamil Nadu which is missing entirely missing in North India. Yeah actually in Tamil Nadu if you see even the reporting also is quite high whenever there is a death or whenever there is an incident like this the reporting is also very immediate very timely and quite high I think because of that only the numbers are also showing as very high in Tamil Nadu but even in Tamil Nadu even though the numbers the reporting is good and the numbers are high the numbers that are coming out is only coming from very very urban areas so what is happening in the semi urban because septic tanks are everywhere semi urban areas and rural areas also so whether there is more and more deaths happening even in semi urban areas and rural areas that is not coming to light because whatever reports are whatever is being reported the deaths is more from the more urban areas so that is that is one that is on one side the other thing is also that why Tamil Nadu is having this kind of a responsiveness from the judiciary I think basically I think there is a kind of there is they have been sensitive to these if the judiciary has been showing some sensitivity to this issue especially from the very beginning so that is also there and also I think when the government is also having the numbers but for a long time what we are seeing is that the government is not able to give the proper direct answer for prevention of deaths I think they are and they're also giving the numbers that there are so many deaths that are happening because one thing is the media is very alert on this issue media is quite alert as soon as the death happens the media is reporting so when these issues are being highlighted and giving some prominence in the media definitely the government cannot undermine the issue that is one strength that is there in the state so that one thing one thing I just want to know from you that finally what do you think that from a stop killing us campaign it has completed a hundred days it's going beyond what is the target what you want to achieve if you can just tell us in briefly if you tell us that stop killing us campaign so we have been focusing on the stop killing us campaign that this particular sewage work is a is a caste atrocity it's a caste discrimination and it is a it is a violence against it is a it is an atrocity and there was a violation of human rights basic human right right to life and right to equality so and this is something one one side I think the communities that have been engaging in this campaign are getting empowered to demand that's on one side on the other side I think the government is also is also kind of making these issues becoming visible so they are forced actually pay attention to this issue that is one side but our main focus is that there has to be prevention of deaths because now deaths are happening and it is it has become very simple and very easy for any government or local government to just give a compensation of 10 lakhs and close the case FIR say yes FIR is being filed but then nowhere does FIR actually go on progress to even a charge sheet so this is a problem yeah charge sheet has not progressed to charge sheet so what we are saying is that deaths are happening compensation is being given FIRs are being filed but that is a very kind of a token action it's not really there's no deep commitment or sincere it's just done because it's it's a routine mechanical way of dealing a routine thing that they are doing so what we are saying is that prevention of death so what do you do for prevention of deaths is that reach to the community and it has to be addressed as a caste atrocity and as a caste-based violence and from that angle only we must take this whole issue and make sure that every person who is even who has a vulnerability who has who's at risk of you know being engaged as a manual scavenger to do storage work must be identified by a survey by a proper survey and brought under the you know radar of the government and liberated and rehabilitated fully so there has to be a proper budget allocation for this for prevention of deaths I think now the focus is more that we want to have prevention of deaths more than compensation and you know after death then after death kind of action no we want that before death you know act to make people live not to make not not to do something after