Labourers' death: Delhi government orders compensation, probe
New Delhi, Sep 10 : The Delhi government on Monday announced Rs 10 lakh each for the five labourers who died following inhalation of toxic gas while cleaning a sewer tank in the national capital and has ordered a probe seeking a report in three days.
A statement from Delhi's Labour Ministry said: "The Labour Minister wants a fact-finding inquiry conducted so as to decide the further course of action against the defaulting agencies/ firms."
Labour Minister Gopal Rai in a tweet announced the compensation. "The Arvind Kejriwal government will provide Rs 10 lakh each to the families of labourers who passed away in the incident," Rai said.
Around 3 p.m on Sunday, the staff of DLF Green Apartments in west Delhi's Moti Nagar informed the police that five labourers were trapped in a sewerage, Deputy Commissioner of Police Monika Bhardwaj said.
They were pulled out and taken to the hospital where Sarfaraz, Pankaj, Raja and Umesh were declared dead. Vishal, who was admitted to the RML Hospital in a critical condition, died during treatment, the officer said.
Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Ram Vilas Paswan has called the incident "shameful and inhuman".
"The LJP has been demanding for years an immediate ban on manual cleaning of sewer drains. For this, a law should be made immediately to provide for strict action and the guilty should be punished with imprisonment of at least 10 years," he said in a statement.
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Bengal: On way to PM's rally, 3 mowed down by train amid dense fog
Kolkata (PTI): Three persons died and three others were injured after being hit by a train amid dense fog on Saturday, while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at Taherpur in West Bengal's Nadia district, a senior official said.
The incident occurred between Taherpur and Badkulla railway stations under the Sealdah-Krishnanagar section of Eastern Railway, he said.
Modi, whose helicopter could not land at Taherpur due to dense fog and low visibility, condoled the death of the “BJP workers” in his virtual address from Kolkata airport.
“I have come to know that some BJP workers, while travelling to the rally, lost their lives in a rail accident. My condolences are with the families of those who have lost their loved ones, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Modi said.
The Eastern Railway official told PTI that the incident occurred in the morning when these people, who were travelling by a bus, had stopped the vehicle and walked to the railway tracks to answer nature's call.
"While three persons died on the spot, two others with injuries were admitted to a local hospital," he said.
Another person with minor injuries was released after having been administered first aid, the official said.
The deceased have been identified as Ramprasad Ghosh (74), Shaktipada Sutradhar (55) and Gopinath Das (38).
Meanwhile, Mahua Moitra, Trinamool Congress MP from Krishnanagar constituency in Nadia district, alleged that the BJP ignored the incident and went ahead with the rally.
"Terrible tragedy hushed up at altar of @narendramodi ego. @BJP4India supporters brought from far Murshidabad for PM rally in Ranaghat today," she said in a post on X.
"4 went to answer nature's call and were killed by 31814 down local train near Taherpur. BJP ignored, blacked out & went ahead with rally," Moitra claimed.
Reacting to her remarks, the West Bengal BJP, in a post on X, asserted that the TMC "has always been adept at milking tragedies", and was being "disrespectful to the unfortunate victims of this tragedy".
The TMC alleged that BJP leaders have not shown "neither concern nor compassion" over the mishap.
"The loss of three lives in Taherpur should have united everyone in grief. But @BJP4India leaders showed neither concern nor compassion," it said in another post on X.
"At this painful moment, Smt @MamataOfficial and Shri @abhishekaitc put humanity above party lines and stood beside the families of the deceased," the party said.
TMC’s on-ground leaders promptly reached out to the grieving family members, ensuring them of help and assistance, it said.
"While Delhi’s rulers chase Bengal with arrogance, our leadership chose empathy. This is the difference between politics of power and politics of people!" the TMC added.
