KRISHNAGIRI: After reaching an agreement with Nalco Water officials, the relatives of the three workers killed at the Tata Electronics Private Limited’s (TEPL) effluent treatment plant in Vanniyapuram near Hosur on Monday, settled for a Rs 30 lakh compensation following the intervention of Krishnagiri SP GS Anitha on Tuesday.
The relatives earlier refused to file a police complaint till Tuesday evening and demanded compensation of over Rs 1 crore and permanent jobs for the kin of each deceased.
The deceased — B Akmal (28) of Thinnur village near Panchapalli, P Kaveri (32) of Hanumanthapuram and M Sarathikumar (22) of Belrampatti — from Dharmapuri were working at the Perma Tech company which had taken a sub-contract from Nalco Water India Private Limited.
They staged a protest demanding a compensation of over `1 crore for each family and job opportunity and financial assistance to the children of Kaveri. Police locked the hospital gate when they tried to stage a road roko on the Krishnagiri-Bengaluru NH in front of the GKMCH at Bolupalli.
During the protest, relatives of Kaveri allegedly manhandled Krishnagiri DSP Ramachandran. Subsequently, more than five persons were detained but were released later. The Krishnagiri district administration sought a report from TN Control Board (TNPCB) and Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) following the three deaths due to asphyxiation at the effluent treatment plant.
Collector C Dinesh Kumar told the TNIE, “TNPCB and DISH visited the company on Tuesday and a report will be submitted within a day. Based on the report, necessary action will be taken. We have also asked the Tata management about the Action Taken Report after the incident and steps will be taken to prevent such incidents in future.”
Another source privy to the investigation told the TNIE, “The three died due to inhaling hydrogen sulfide gas and ppm levels in the tank will be checked by DISH.”
Meanwhile, SP GS Anitha who rushed to the spot and mediated between the protestors and Nalco HR representative, convinced the former to accept a Rs 30 lakh solatium for each family. The relatives decided to withdraw their protest after registering a complaint. Similarly, postmortem was conducted for three bodies at the hospital in the evening.
Min assures probe into 3 workers’ death
CHENNAI: Industries Minister S Keerthana has promised a “thorough” investigation after three contract workers died from gas inhalation while cleaning a tank at a utility facility serving Tata Electronics’ Hosur plant, in Krishnagiri district, which makes Apple components.
Keerthana said on X on Tuesday that she has directed the district administration to give “all necessary support” to the victims’ families and to address the situation “with utmost urgency”.
“The safety and dignity of every worker must remain paramount,” she said, adding that action would follow the findings and that measures must be put in place to prevent a recurrence.
