CHENNAI: A 37-year-old contract worker associated with the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metro Water) was buried alive after a 10-foot-deep pit caved in while he was carrying out underground sewage work at Thiruvottiyur in the early hours of Saturday.
The police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, against two people associated with the contracting firm.
The deceased has been identified as Bhoominathan, a native of Tiruvannamalai district. According to the police, he was among four workers inside a freshly dug pit to replace a damaged sewage tank on Gramam Street.
The police said sewage from the damaged tank had filled the pit and the workers were still carrying out the work, leading the police to invoke provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers Act.
Around 4 am, when the group was engaged in work, earth from one of the sides of the pit suddenly collapsed, burying Bhoominathan. The fire and rescue personnel, assisted by residents, removed the soil and recovered Bhoominathan’s body after an operation lasting around two-and-a-half hours. He had died by the time rescuers reached him, the police said. Sources said the loose soil in the locality, which is close to the seashore, could have contributed to the cave-in.
Preliminary inquiries revealed the sewage work was being carried out for four houses in the locality. The police registered a case under Section 105(2) of the BNS, and relevant provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act.