Hyderabad: A 30-year-old worker died while cleaning a drainage at a function hall under Rein Bazaar police station limits on Saturday evening. The victim was identified as Shantaiah, a resident of Yakutpura. The Alhusna Function Hall had engaged Shantaiah to clean the drainage in its premises. “He had entered the tank, which is inside the premises of the function hall, to clean it and got stuck there. He died inside the drainage hole due to suffocation.” said Mr Mohd Abhul, the Rein Bazaar inspector.
“He was appointed to clean the tank by the function hall,” the inspector said. Shantaiah’s body was retrieved by two locals with the help of a rope and was shifted to Osmania Hospital mortuary for post mortem. Based on a complaint lodged by his brother G. Krishna, a case was booked under Section 304A (death due to negligence). The case is under investigation.
Over a dozen workers have been killed when they entered manholes to clean drainage lines. Many of these workers are untrained. Besides, they lack safety gear that is required to enter drains. This is not only the case with private persons but also contractors employed by the Hyderabad Sewerage Board. There have been instances when the contractors sent poorly trained and equipped workers to their death in the city’s drains.
