The Kerala High Court on Wednesday said that someone has to be held responsible for the death of one migrant worker and serious injuries to two others during the construction of Seena Thodu, a canal, being carried out by the Corporation in Ernakulam. The court said it has to be found out whether any portion of the construction that fell on the workers was illegally done.
"We cannot allow accidents like this to happen and people walking away without taking responsibility. We have to fix responsibility," Justice Devan Ramachandran said, referring to the incident of October 6. The work with regard to Seena Thodu was being carried out on orders of the High Court for cleaning it up, when a concrete slab fell on the workers. The incident occurred in Kaloor.
After hearing about the accident, the court had taken up the matter to ensure compensation to the family of the deceased worker and the injured as well as the latter's proper medical treatment.
On Wednesday, the Ernakulam Corporation told the court that it proposes to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the family of the deceased and the same is awaiting approval of the state government.
The court said that it expects the government to take a decision on the corporation's proposal without any delay once it receives the same. It also directed the competent authority to ensure medical expenses are taken care of by the contractor or any other authority as may be applicable.
The state government said that once the deceased worker's post mortem report and his legal heir’s certificate is received a certificate would be sent to the Employees Compensation Commission which will disburse Rs 2 lakh to his family.
The court earlier asked the corporation to ensure that there is proper supervision for such works so that such accidents will be avoided in future.
(Inputs from PTI)