THENI: A male sanitation worker employed on contract basis by the Cumbum Municipality died after he fell down from a 30-feet hydraulic lift while cleaning political posters from a market wall on Monday. His colleagues staged a protest on Tuesday demanding ex-gratia payment for the bereaved family.
According to sources, Manikandan (36), a resident of DDT Nagar, was working as a contract sanitation worker in the Cumbum municipality through a private agency.
On Monday evening, Manikandan was asked to remove a political leader’s poster that was placed above the entrance of the weekly market. While carrying out work from a hydraulic ladder vehicle used for streetlight maintenance, he lost his balance and fell down.
He died on the spot. Cumbum North police sent the body to Theni Government Medical College Hospital for post mortem. On Tuesday morning sanitation workers staged a sit-in protest in front of the municipaluty office demanding payment of compensation on par with the government worker. and a government job to one of his family members.
Municipal Commissioner Umasankar and health officials held talks with the workers. They assured that steps would be taken to secure all eligible financial benefits through the private agency, and that a recommendation for a government job would be forwarded to higher authorities. Following the talks, the workers dispersed.