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Contractor booked for death of 4 workers in Hisar sewage plant
A day after four persons died after inhaling poisonous gas while checking the motor installed in a sewage treatment plant (STP) tank in Budha Khera village of Hisar’s Uklana, police have booked contractor Rajesh, of Jind
A day after four persons died after inhaling poisonous gas while checking the motor installed in a sewage treatment plant (STP) tank in Budha Khera village of Hisar’s Uklana, police have booked contractor Rajesh, of Jind.
The case was registered under Section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavenger and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 on Wednesday, on complaint of Biru Ram, uncle of one of the victim’s, Surender Kumar.
On Tuesday evening, four persons – Surender Kumar, 28, Mahender Singh, 25, and Rajesh, 35, of Budha Khera village, and Rahul Kumar, 30, of Hassangarh village in district – had died in the STP tank after inhaling poisonous gas.
The deaths have brought to fore the appalling disregard to safety norms for sanitation workers.
In his complaint, Biru Ram said his nephew was working as a contractual worker under contractor Rajesh for the last three years.
“On Tuesday evening, my nephew went inside a 50-feet manhole to check a motor that had developed a snag, without wearing any safety gear. Later, Rahul too climbed down. When the duo did not come out, I shouted for help and caretaker Rajesh and Mahender went down,” he said.
“All of them died after inhaling poisonous gas. Contractor Rajesh was mounting pressure on Surender and Rahul to work at the STP tank without any safety gears. When I had asked them about risking their lives, they said they were doing it to retain their job,” the complainant added.
The victims’ bodies were handed over to their families after autopsy at Maharaja Agrasen Medical College in Agroha, Hisar.
‘ ₹17 lakh each, government job to next of kin’
A high drama was witnessed at the medical college as the families refused to accept the bodies. State labour and employment minister Anoop Dhanak intervened and took part in cremation of the deceased, where he announced compensation of ₹17 lakh each and government job to next of kin of the deceased.
“Strict action will be taken against the contractor. The administration should ensure that every worker gets safety gear before going down to clean septic tanks,” the minister added.
Hisar police spokesman Vikas Kumar said they have launched a manhunt to nab contractor Rajesh. Hisar deputy commissioner Priyanka Soni has also ordered a magisterial probe into the matter.
Ensure that sanitation workers wear necessary equipment while on duty: Dushyant
Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala has directed the labour department to prepare a standard operating procedure (SOP) ensuring that sanitation workers wear necessary equipment while performing duties like cleaning sewers.
He has also directed the department concerned to check safety measures related to fire and gas leakage in chemical storage of industries in state and directed to prepare SOP in this regard.
He said the industries concerned should complete all formalities in the next 60 days after which surprise inspections will be conducted.
The deaths show govt failure: Selja
Meanwhile, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Kumari Selja said six lives have been lost in STPs and sewer lines in state in just the last 10 days.
The HPCC chief said the BJP-JJP alliance cannot escape accountability as it did not make available necessary resources to those working at STPs and in sewer lines.
She said these deaths are due to failures of the state government which did not learn a lesson from the recent incidents that took place in Palwal and Panipat.
“On April 9, a sanitation worker, who had landed in sewer lines in Palwal had died, while the condition of three was critical. On April 14, one worker lost his life in Panipat and two were in critical state,” she said.
The reason behind these incidents is lack of safety gear, she said. There is no pressure on contractors to follow the norms made for those working at STPs and sewer lines, Selja added.
