MANGALURU: A 35-year-old man died after he fell into an under-construction manhole at Katipalla in Suratkal on Saturday night. The victim was identified as Mohan, a resident of the locality.Mohan, a painter, was returning home when he fell into the gaping hole in the middle of the untarred road around 8.45 pm. The iron rods fixed for construction of the manhole pierced his neck. On hearing Mohan’s screams, local residents pulled him out of the pit and shifted him to a private hospital. But Mohan succumbed to the injuries.
Suratkal police said that a contractor, Hameed, was awarded the job of laying the underground drainage (UGD) network along with manholes at Katipalla 2nd Block. Neither the contractor nor MCC engineers had bothered to erect barricades or put up caution boards to warn pedestrians in the area. The absence of streetlights at the spot only made matters worse. Hours after the man death, the contractor and the MCC engineer concerned swung into action and installed multiple barricades around the manhole.
Ashok, the brother of the deceased, told Express that the death was caused due to the negligence of the contractor and MCC. “If the contractor cannot take safety measures, why should he be allowed to continue with the work? If they had taken precautionary measures and installed barricades, my brother would have be alive now,’’ he said. Their mother Lakshmi (65) was in no position to speak.
Mangaluru North MLA Moideen Bava blamed the contractor and MCC engineer concerned for the death. “The contractor should have taken precautionary measures while undertaking the work. But no such safety measures were taken. I have instructed the police and MCC to take stringent action against both the contractor and engineer,’’ he declared. Bava promised maximum compensation for the victim’s family from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.