CHENNAI: A 45-year-old contract worker died on Monday afternoon after a 15-foot-deep trench caved on him when he was engaged in underground drainage work in Pammal under the Tambaram City Municipal Corporation limits.
According to sources, the incident occurred while six contract workers were laying underground pipelines in Ilango Street, Anna Nagar, as part of the large-scale UGD project under way in Pammal and Anakaputhur areas for the past three years. Arul, who was from Salem and residing in Avadi, was inside the trench fitting pipes when the soil on the sides gave way, burying him under a mound of soil and debris.
Others at the spot alerted officials at the Tambaram Corporation and Sankar Nagar Police Station. Fire and rescue personnel rushed to the scene and began a rescue operation. After nearly two hours of effort, Arul was pulled out from the debris. However, paramedics from the 108 ambulance declared him dead.
The body was sent to the Government Hospital in Chromepet for post-mortem. Sankar Nagar police said a complaint is yet to be filed as of 9 pm on Monday. The engineering section officials of the TCMC further added that they would lodge a complaint with the police after the preliminary investigation conducted by engineers of Pammal zone.
Residents and activists blamed the corporation’s negligence for the death. They alleged that safety protocols were not followed and labourers were deployed without proper protective gear or on-site monitoring by engineering officials.“This is a hazardous job. There should have been routine inspections and safety enforcement by the civic body,” said John, a resident of Pammal.
TCMC officials maintained that the entire project is being carried out by the private contractor, and the civic body is in no way connected with the day-to-day work except monitoring the quality of the work in regular intervals. They further assured that the corporation would instruct the contractor to adhere to all safety protocols and provide adequate compensation to the victim’s family.