KOCHI: The death of a 42-year-old worker after falling from an under-construction building in Kochi on Thursday once again brings to the fore the crass negligence on the part of builders in not ensuring the safety of workers who work on the high-rise buildings.
Despite the government issuing strict safety rules for high-rise building constructions, most of the builders do not care to follow them. According to sources, this year alone, three migrant workers were killed after falling from high-rise buildings. More often, migrant workers are the victims, which make it easy for the builders to hush up.
Rules stipulate that workers have to wear gumboots, hand gloves, safety helmet and safety belt while working at high-rise buildings. The builders have to provide catch net, barrication, safety goggles, reflective jackets and proper scaffolding at the construction site for the workers for their safety.
"The accidents are mainly caused due to the lackadaisical attitude of the builders in ensuring the safety of the workers. Though a few builders adhere to the safety standards, majority them fail to ensure the safety of the workers. Even the safety engineers at work sites are not qualified enough to guide the workers about the safety while working in high-rise buildings. Nobody is following the building rules," said a project managers of a high rise building requesting anonymity.
According to him, many such deaths in the construction sites are hidden from the authorities. "Normally when an accident happens, builders will be taken to task for not following the safety rules. So, in order avoid such a situation, the builders will directly settle the issue by influencing the higher authorities. This is what happens in several cases," said a structural engineer in Kochi.
The labour Department is responsible for conducting surprise checks. But their directions are never adhered to. Labour Department officials say that constructions at sites are normally carried out flouting all safety and labour rules.
District Labour Officer V B Biju shared his experience when he conducted a surprise visit as per the direction of the Regional Joint Labour Commissioner K Sreelal last week.
"When we inspected a construction site in the city, labourers are not seen following any kind of safety measures. They were not using use safety belts, barricades, helmets or other safety equipment at the construction site,” he said.
Construction worker dies after falling from high-rise building
Kochi: A 42-year old construction worker died after falling from a high-riser under construction on Stadium Link Road, Kaloor, on Thursday. According to the police, Vinod, 42, hailing from Arookutty, Alappuzha, has been identified as the deceased. Though he was rushed to the hospital soon after the incident on the morning, he was declared brought dead. Palarivattom police registered a case.
District Disaster Management Authority a failure?
According to some engineers, the DDMA is remaining as an agency to inform the disaster. "While in other countries the Disaster Management Authorities come up with evacuation plans, in Kerala they are remaining as an informer of disaster. Even the Fire and Rescue team and the police are not capable of dealing if a building collapses in the city. Instead of visiting the site after the disaster, they should conduct a surprise inspection to find whether the builders are following the safety rules," said a top authority of a building organisation.
Kochi Metro a real example of following safety rules
The construction agencies for the Kochi Metro set a difference by following all the safety rules. According to a KMRL officer, no heavy accident was reported during the course of the metro project as the construction agencies strictly followed safety rules. And thankfully no accidents happened. Before starting the work, all are directed to ensure their own safety first," said a metro officer.