Workers in peril

SITTING ducks — that’s what all those nameless, faceless workers are who toil day and night on development projects across the country. Their safety is of little concern to their employers, even though the infrastructure sector continues to be a key driver of Indian economy. When 40-odd labourers were rescued from Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel in November 2023 — the risky operation was watched by the entire nation with bated breath — it was hoped that lessons would be learnt to ensure safer working conditions at construction sites. That hope has proved to be short-lived.

Two workers were killed when a centring frame collapsed during the laying of a slab at an under-construction building in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on Saturday. The same day, 28 workers were trapped when the shuttering of an upcoming building caved in at Kannauj railway station in Uttar Pradesh. It took a 16-hour operation, involving personnel of the national and state disaster response forces and the railways, to rescue all of them. In contrast, frantic efforts to save labourers from a watery grave in a flooded rat-hole coal mine in Assam have proved futile. Criminal negligence is at the core of such mishaps, even as the rescuers put their own lives at risk to extricate survivors. Brazen disregard for the law by public or private entities shows enforcement agencies in a poor light.

Why are the humble workers not regarded as nation-builders? Why are they left to fend for themselves? Such apathy does not behove a country that aspires to become developed (Viksit) by 2047. The Buildings and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996, puts the onus on employers to set up safety committees and ensure that steps are taken to prevent accidents. Non-compliance with provisions of the Act is a punishable offence, yet offenders rarely get their just deserts. For the hapless worker, there won’t be a miraculous escape every time. He or she deserves a safety net — financial as well as physical.