In a tragic incident, a 35-year-old corporation contract worker died in an underground drainage (UGD) pit in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai on Monday, November 7. The mishap took place near the Ashok Nagar Second Street at Koodal Nagar, where Sakthivel and two other workers were fixing leaking underground pipes. As they were working, heaps of soil they had dug for work suddenly collapsed on top of them, trapping them in the rainwater-filled pit. Though the other two managed to escape from amid the debris, Sakthivel was unable to do so.
According to reports, up to 13 ft of the 15-ft pit which was dug for the UGD project had been filled with rainwater when the incident took place. The Fire and Rescue Services team had soon arrived at the spot and launched an hours-long rescue operation, which was made difficult by the mud and rainwater. The officials reportedly deployed a backhoe loader and pump to drain the pit, and after four hours, the team was able to retrieve Sakthivel’s body. Madurai MP Su Venkatesan, Mayor V Indrani, and corporation officials inspected the rescue operation at the site.
In a Facebook post later, Venkatesan condemned the violations of guidelines at the worksite and demanded that the corporation officials conduct a proper inquiry into the incident. “The neglect in the proper implementation of safety guidelines is the main reason behind such deaths. It is not acceptable that violations happen continuously at worksites. The corporation should conduct a proper inquiry into the incident and provide ex gratia to the family of the deceased worker,” he wrote.
The state has recently witnessed many accidents in which pedestrians and bikers fell into unbarricaded pits that were dug for projects such as stormwater drain construction. On October 23, Muthukrishnan, a young journalist who worked the Puthiyathalaimurai Digital news, lost his life as he fell into the open pit dug by the Highways department in Chennai.
#TW:
— Nithya (@NityaPandian) November 7, 2022
CCTV footage shows heaps of soil collapsing into a trench where Madurai Corporation contract workers were laying pipe lines, trapping them underneath. #Madurai #SuVenkatesan pic.twitter.com/Limg4ISRr5
Similarly, MG Dawood Miakhan, who is the General Secretary of the Quaide Milleth Educational and Social Trust, sustained serious injuries after falling into a trench at Kasturi Rangan Road on October 18. He was trying to cross the open space on a narrow plank that was laid across it when he fell. He sustained injuries to his head and fractured his arm, and was later admitted to Kauvery hospital where he underwent surgery.