Day after STP deaths, negligence case registered in Hisar district

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, April 20

With no safety kits and technical assistance by their side, the sewage treatment plant (STP) turned out to be a death trap for the four youths who descended into the 40-foot well for the repair of a defective electric motor in Budhakhera village of the district last evening.

Give Rs 1 cr relief

The state must give Rs 1 crore relief to each of the families. Despite repeated mishaps of asphyxiation resulting in deaths, there have been no measures regarding the safety of such workers. Naresh Selwal, Cong leader

Villagers said there was no assistance for around four hours from the administration even after they alerted the police and the authorities about the mishap. Four persons, including two contractual employees Surender and Rahul and two others Mahender and Rakesh had died, after inhaling toxic gas in the well.

The district administration has announced a financial help of Rs 17 lakh, comprising Rs 11 lakh from the contractor firm which was responsible for the maintenance of the STP, Rs 5 lakh from the Labour Welfare Board and Rs 1 lakh from minister quota to each of the families of the deceased. The administration also assured to provide contractual jobs to one member of each family. The police have registered a case of negligence against the contractor and started a probe.

Sources said the victims had gone down the well one after another to extend help to those inside there. “In fact, some more youths were ready to go down when none of the four persons came out and even responded to the calls from outside. We guessed the danger inside and, thus, stopped them from entering the well,” said sources, adding that they could not even raise an alarm due to the toxic effect of the poisonous gas in the well.

The villagers said there was no technical help from the administration for around four hours. Later, the authorities installed motors and extracted water and sludge from the well and then took out the bodies. By then, it was too late, they maintained.

Labour and Employment Minister Anoop Dhanak, who attended the cremation of the workers, said the district administration had been directed to get a thorough inquiry conducted into the incident. He said a committee, headed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, would conduct the inquiry and submit the report to the government. Action would be taken against those officials or agencies which were found guilty of negligence in the incident,” he stated.

Earlier mishaps

• February 17, 2021: A worker died due to asphyxiation when he was cleaning a sewerage line near Lahoria Chowk in Hisar town.
• June 13, 2019: Two farmers died of asphyxiation at a village in Charkhi Dadri district when they descended into a well in their field.