Four sanitation workers were killed in separate incidents after they allegedly inhaled toxic gases while cleaning sewers in Lucknow and Rae Bareli on Tuesday, said police.
In Lucknow, Puran, 26, and Karan, 28 – both workers of a private agency hired by Lucknow Water works (Jal Sansthan) – died while cleaning a manhole in Gulabnagar locality of Saadatganj, in the old city area. Two others were rescued by local residents.
It appeared as though the deceased were not provided with adequate safety equipment by the agency, police said.
“We will file an FIR against the working agency for not giving enough safety equipment to the sewer cleaning workers. The workers are usually very poor and unaware about their rights. They earn their livelihood by exposing themselves to risk. So, it’s the duty of the agencies to ensure proper safety kit to every sewer worker. The kit should include gloves, gum boots, oxygen cylinders and safety belts. If they have not provided these to the workers, they will face legal action,” said SK Varma, GM, Jal Sansthan.
According to the directives of the Supreme Court, the dependents of two sanitation workers will get compensation of ₹10 lakh each, he said.
Lucknow mayor Sanyukta Bhatia expressed grief over the death of the two sanitation workers and ordered an inquiry into the incident. She also instructed Suez India to give compensation to the families of the deceased. The mayor sought a detailed report of the incident from municipal commissioner Ajay Dwivedi, Suez India GM Rajesh Mathpal and Jal Sansthan GM SK Verma.
{{/usCountry}}Lucknow mayor Sanyukta Bhatia expressed grief over the death of the two sanitation workers and ordered an inquiry into the incident. She also instructed Suez India to give compensation to the families of the deceased. The mayor sought a detailed report of the incident from municipal commissioner Ajay Dwivedi, Suez India GM Rajesh Mathpal and Jal Sansthan GM SK Verma.
{{/usCountry}}She said, “The police will also investigate about the officer who allowed the sanitation workers to go into the manhole without safety equipment.”
“The LMC will make sure that action is taken against the person guilty of forcing these sanitation workers to enter the manhole without safety equipment. Action will also be taken against supervisors who fled from the spot leaving the workers dead,” said municipal commissioner Ajay Dwivedi.
Similarly, two workers – Yogesh, 35, and Sanju Nagar, 45 – hired by a private outsourced agency, died while cleaning a sewer on Manika road in Rae Bareli, police said. Locals alleged that they were not provided safety gear for the job.
The duo fainted inside the manhole, nagar kotwali in-charge officer Raghavan Singh said. They were pulled out after a few local residents raised an alarm and were rushed to the district hospital where doctors declared them brought dead. Their post-mortem examination was underway, he said.
Rae Bareli district magistrate Vaibhav Srivastava and other officials visited the spot. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the deaths and directed officials to extend all possible help, said an official spokesperson from Lucknow.