NAGAPATTINAM: A 26-year-old contract sanitation worker was electrocuted to death when the garbage collection vehicle he was travelling on came in contact with an overhead power line early on Thursday. The sanitation workers staged protests in the town condemning the alleged lack of safety measures at work.
Sources said, A Vijay of Ambedkar Nagar set out for the day’s collection and disposal of waste in a garbage truck driven by Jothi of Kumbakonam. As the two disposed of collected waste at the municipality dump yard in Nagapattinam and were returning around 7 am, the truck came in contact with a low-hanging power line. Vijay who was standing on the tipper was electrocuted to death, while the truck caught fire. An injured Jothi was taken to Nagapattinam General Hospital.
The Nagapattinam Town police arranged for an autopsy on Vijay’s body and registered a case for unnatural death. Municipality Chairman R Marimuthu met the protesters who demanded solatium for Vijay’s family and a job for one of his family members. They also demanded the municipality to act on the lack of occupational safety. The chairman assured to look into the demands.