2 die while cleaning restaurant’s kitchen waste treatment unit

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 23 

Two housekeeping staff members of Pirates of Grill, a restaurant in Rajouri Garden, died of suffocation while cleaning the kitchen waste treatment unit, while two others were admitted to the Deen Dayal Upadhaya Hospital in a serious condition.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (West district) Monika Bhardwaj, the police received the information around 1:30 pm.

The DCP said prima facie it seemed that the housekeeping staff entered the sewage treatment unit for cleaning but they become unconscious just after entering the unit. They were taken to the hospital, where Rakesh (45) and Ajay (19) were declared brought dead by the doctors, while Pankaj and Raju were in a critical condition. They are still unable to record any statement. 

An FIR has been registered against the restaurant owner under Section 304 of the IPC, the DCP said.       

The government had administered oath to the owners of private hospitals, malls, schools and other buildings that they would not use unskilled labours for cleaning septic tanks and sewers. But still unskilled labourer were been pushed to sewers without proper gear resulting in their deaths. 

Not the first time 

• This is not the first incident of this kind. In August last year, 10 sanitation workers died while cleaning the sewer because they were not provided with adequate cleaning kits. The court, however, had ordered the department concerned to provide the kits to sanitation workers when they enter sewers, a social activist said.
• According to the data given by the police, 84 sanitation workers have died in the last five years. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Jal Board have issued 21 directives such as proving special suit, oxygen cylinder, mask, gum boots, safety belt and informing ambulance in advance during emergency, but this is still not in practice.