PWD contractor attempts suicide citing delay in payment, say police

According to the police, the contractor, along with his wife and two young children, staged a protest in front of the main administrative office at the Killa (Fort area) in Belagavi on Wednesday

Belagavi:

The contractor was assinged to reconstruct a 40-kilometer stretch between Halaga village in front of Suvarna Vidhan Soudha in Belagavi taluk and Tigadi village in Bailhongal taluk in 2022 with a project cost of ₹6.5 lakhs. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A public works department (PWD) contractor attempted suicide to protest against the “undue delay” in releasing payment for a road construction contract he completed, the police said on Wednesday.

According to the police, the contractor, along with his wife and two children, staged a protest in front of the main administrative office at the Killa (Fort area) in Belagavi on Wednesday.

The contractor ingested a liquid from a small plastic bottle, suspected to be poison, police said, adding that he was rushed to the emergency and trauma centre at the Belagavidistricthospital.

The government hospital officials said that the contractor’s condition is stable.

Following incident, PWD officials filed a first information report (FIR) against the contractor, citing his suicide attempt under section 309 (punishes an attempt to die by suicide), Market station inspector Mahantesh Brahamannavar said.

PWD executive engineer SS Sobarad said, “An FIR has been filed against the contractor for holding a protest with his family on the office premises without permission and attempting suicide.”

He added that the contractor’s claim for reimbursement of bills was rejected because he did not complete the work allotted to him in time.

“Following the PWD’s complaint, an FIR was registered against the contractor for his suicide attempt. The PWD officials argued that his demand for payment had been rejected due to issues with the work completion,” Brahamannavar said.

The contractor was assinged to reconstruct a 40-kilometer stretch between Halaga village in front of Suvarna Vidhan Soudha in Belagavi taluk and Tigadi village in Bailhongal taluk in 2022 with a project cost of ₹6.5 lakhs.

His wife, who joined in the protest, explained that they had completed the project by pledging her gold ornaments and borrowing money from financial institutions, friends, and relatives. They were burdened by the mounting interest on the loans, as the department repeatedly delayed the payment of their bills for reasons unrelated to their work.

In a statement to police, the contractor said that he has submitted all the necessary administrative documents and handed over the completed work to the department nine months ago. He is waiting for his payment, which has been repeatedly pushed back without a valid explanation.

An official from the Karnataka State Civil Works Contractors’ Association in Belagavi said, requesting anonymity that Bangi warned the officials about his intent to protest with his family in front of the office before commencing the demonstration.

Meanwhile, Belagavi City block Congress president, Belagavi north MLA Asif (Raju) Sait said that there was no shortage of funds with government to carry out the public related works. The work assinged to the contractor was allotted in the last BJP government. Quoting the PWD officials, the legislator said that the contractor is claimed bills before completing the work. It’s not possible to pay the bills to the partially completed works, he said.

In 2021, another PWD contractor from Belagavi, Santosh Patil, who was affiliated with the BJP and a close aide of former BJP minister KS Eshwarappa, had tragically ended his life. Patil had accused the minister of demanding a 40% commission to release his pending bills, which he couldn’t afford. This incident had significant repercussions for the BJP, and the opposition Congress capitalised on it as a political weapon during the last assembly election.