A 42-year-old man from Jharkhand, engaged for the Mass Rapid Transit System(MRTS) project, fell to his death at a construction site in Adambakkam on Tuesday. Work on the MRTS project is underway at several places in the city including Thillai Ganga Nagar in Adambakkam.
According to sources, workers engaged in the construction on the stretch between 28th Street and 45th Street in Adambakkam had finished for the day and were coming down the ladder around 9 pm.
All of a sudden, one of them, Bhima Paharia, slipped and fell between two racks of the steel ladder from a height of 25 feet and hit the ground. He was rushed to a private hospital in Madipakkam, but was declared ‘brought dead’ by doctors at 10.30 pm, Adambakkam Police Inspector M Elavarasu said. Bhima, a native of Sahibganj district in Jharkhand, had been hired for the project about four months ago.
“He had been working in the city for nearly a year,” said Manik Chandra Rai, a recruiting agent. “Workers like him are paid around Rs 6,000 per month, besides free food and accommodation,” he added.
The victim’s nephew Bitka Paharia told ‘Express’ that they started work at the site from 8 am and were paid Rs 4,500 as salary.
Labourers from north and north-eastern states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa, who have been recruited for the project, stay close to the site, Elavarasu told ‘Express’. Another MRTS worker from Jharkhand, Upendra, had met with a similar fate at the nearby Balaji Nagar in April this year, raising questions about the safety measures adopted at these sites.
A case has been registered by the Adambakkam police under Section 304-A (causing death by negligence). Bhima is survived by wife and three children.