KOLKATA: Three construction workers assigned to repair a sewer joint inside a 10ft deep manhole at Kolkata Leather Complex, allegedly without protective gear, drowned Sunday morning after possibly inhaling toxic gas, police said.
Farzem Sheikh (58), Suman Sardar (30) and Hasibur Sheikh (30) were part of a team contracted to renovate a portion of a drainage network under Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).
The deaths occurred three days after SC clamped a blanket ban on manual scavenging and sewer cleaning in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
The area where the trio died isn’t part of Kolkata Municipal Corporation belt, but falls within what is called Greater Kolkata. The metropolitan authority manages civic amenities in that part of town.
Sources said that after the manhole construction was completed, water seepage from another pipeline loosened the connection between the sewer and the area’s high drain. Farzem, who apparently went down the manhole to block the seepage with a sandbag, was trapped there after suspected respiratory poisoning.
“The other two workers went in to save him and didn’t come up even after several minutes, at which a fourth person decided to go down the ladder. He felt sick, too, and quickly climbed up to raise an alarm. Other workers called the local police,” an officer said.
Divers retrieved three bodies after a four-hour operation that also involved fire brigade and Kolkata Police’s disaster management group. The deceased were from Murshidabad. Autopsy reports from NRS Medical College and Hospital are awaited.
Mayor Firhad Hakim announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the victims. Police have detained a representative of the contractor entrusted to work on the drainage system. Investigators said the workers were hired by Sector 6 Industrial Development Authority.
Hakim said work on a new sewer drainage network was being executed by KMDA, although the project was originally the MSME department’s responsibility. He said CM Mamata Banerjee was “extremely concerned” about the tragedy and an inquiry would fix responsibility for the deaths.
