<p class="title">Even as the fight against manual scavenging rages on, despite its abolition, a BJP legislator has given a new twist to this inhuman practice.</p>.<p class="bodytext">BJP MLC D S Veeraiah on Wednesday said that manual scavengers were contracting HIV/AIDS while cleaning manholes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, a day after two men died of asphyxiation while cleaning a clogged septic tank of a hotel in the city, Veeraiah said: "Those who clean manholes contract AIDS. Pourakarmikas are dying even before they turn 30 or 40. The government should formulate more rigorous laws to end manual scavenging. A new law is the need of the hour."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Veeraiah said that the BJP's Slum Morcha and SC Morcha would stage a protest in Bengaluru on Thursday, condemning the deaths of those who take up manual scavenging works.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He also demanded stringent action against the owners of YumLok, the hotel which had hired two workers, Ramu and Ravi, to clear a clogged drain; and BBMP officials.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said that the government should guarantee permanent jobs to the kin of the victims in addition to a minimum compensation of Rs 10 lakh. </p>
<p class="title">Even as the fight against manual scavenging rages on, despite its abolition, a BJP legislator has given a new twist to this inhuman practice.</p>.<p class="bodytext">BJP MLC D S Veeraiah on Wednesday said that manual scavengers were contracting HIV/AIDS while cleaning manholes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, a day after two men died of asphyxiation while cleaning a clogged septic tank of a hotel in the city, Veeraiah said: "Those who clean manholes contract AIDS. Pourakarmikas are dying even before they turn 30 or 40. The government should formulate more rigorous laws to end manual scavenging. A new law is the need of the hour."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Veeraiah said that the BJP's Slum Morcha and SC Morcha would stage a protest in Bengaluru on Thursday, condemning the deaths of those who take up manual scavenging works.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He also demanded stringent action against the owners of YumLok, the hotel which had hired two workers, Ramu and Ravi, to clear a clogged drain; and BBMP officials.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said that the government should guarantee permanent jobs to the kin of the victims in addition to a minimum compensation of Rs 10 lakh. </p>
