Man dies after entering sewer in Delhi, two contractors arrested
New Delhi: A 35-year-old man died and three others lost consciousness after they entered a sewer to clean it in northwest Delhi's Shakurpur on Saturday, police said, claiming that the work was being carried out by a PWD contractor.
Meanwhile, a government statement claimed that the man had fallen into an open drain and Delhi PWD minister Satyendar Jain ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Still, the minister sought the inquiry report from the PWD engineer-in-chief, and announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the worker's family.
One contractor and one private supervisor were arrested in connection with the incident, the police said.
The deceased was identified as Ashok, a resident of Budh Vihar and the other men were Gore Lal (35), Rohit (30) and Sai (50), all residents of Pooth Kalan, they said.
The police received information about the incident at around 11 am.
They said the four men entered the sewer near a gas agency after they were hired by the PWD contractor to clean it. When they did not come out for some time, the police were informed.
The men were taken out from the sewer by police personnel and firefighters and were rushed for treatment to Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital in Pitampura, the police said.
"All four labourers were rushed to the Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital where Ashok was declared brought dead. The condition of the rest is stable," a senior police officer said.
The Delhi Fire Services said they received information about the incident at 11.20 am. Two fire tender were rushed to the spot and the rescue operation was initiated, a senior fire official said.
According to police, there were four victims, however, the fire department claimed that they pulled out five people from the sewer of which one was declared brought dead.
"A case under sections 304 (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code and 7/9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act has been registered at Subhash Place police station on Lal's statement," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya.
Raj Kumar (27), a resident of Barwala, and Babloo (45), a resident of Pooth Kalan, have been arrested, the police said.
The government statement said the PWD minister has asked for the inquiry report to be submitted to him as soon as possible and an SDM inquiry has also been initiated.
The minister has ordered a probe into who called the PWD maintenance van, the nature of complaint, how the worker fell in the open drain and other related aspects, it saod.
The minister also went to the hospital to inquire about the well-being of the hospitalised workers and issued directions for the best treatment for the workers.
The doctors said two workers had been discharged after examination, the statement said. According to locals, the men were working at the spot for two days.
"I was near the spot when I heard someone shouting for help. When I reached there, I saw some people were stuck inside the sewer due to toxic gases. People in the area called the police and they also tried to pull them out," said Suraj, a 31-year-old eyewitness.
Another witness alleged that the sewer was closed from past many months and the men weren't wearing any safety gear during the cleaning process.
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Trump returns from China; terms meeting with Xi as 'G-2'
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump returned from a visit to China, describing his discussions with President Xi Jinping as a meeting of leaders of "two great countries".
Trump landed at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on the outskirts of the US capital on Friday evening, claiming to have struck important trade deals, including one for China's purchase of 200 aircraft from Boeing, with a promise for another 750, as well as agreements benefiting the American agriculture sector.
The US President reached here after a brief refuelling stop at Anchorage in Alaska.
“It’s the two great countries. I call it the G-2. This is the G-2. I think it’ll go down as a very important moment in history,” Trump told Fox News in an interview after meeting Xi on Thursday.
The Washington Post reported that Trump’s remarks put China on an equal footing with the US, exactly what Xi had aimed to achieve with the visit.
“Over two days of meetings here, the carefully choreographed pageantry and the reciprocal gestures of friendship and respect between the world’s two most powerful men displayed a geopolitical dynamic that the Chinese have long craved and Americans had resisted," the Post said.
Trump told Fox News that the relationship with Xi was important and suggested that China may not resort to any aggressive moves over Taiwan, at least till he is in office.
“It’s not a takeover. They just don’t want to see this place — we’ll call it a place because nobody knows how to define it — but they don’t want to see it go independent,” Trump said.
“I don’t think they’ll do anything when I’m here. When I’m not here. I think they might, to be honest with you,” Trump said.
"I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down," he said.
"We're not looking to have wars, and if you kept it the way it is, I think China's going to be OK with that," he added.
The US President said he had invited Xi for a visit to Washington in September.
“Xi has done something Chinese leaders have been working toward for decades — bringing an American president to Beijing as an undisputed peer,” said Julian Gewirtz, who served as China director on the National Security Council under President Joe Biden.
“Xi used the opulent optics of the visit to make clear to the world that China and the United States are the two dominant, equally matched superpowers. There is no going back.”
Trump’s friendly statements toward Xi and the Chinese people were being amplified in China’s state-controlled media, sending the message that “we’re getting along better with the Americans,” John Delury, a senior Fellow at the Asia Society, was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
It was understandable that Trump wanted to be polite to Xi, but that the American president’s gushing approach “weakens Trump and the US”, R. Nicholas Burns, the ambassador to China during the Biden administration, was quoted as saying in The New York Times.
“Xi did not hesitate to warn Trump over Taiwan. Trump should not hesitate to be frank about our concerns, too,” he said.
Trump and Xi are expected to meet at least three times this year.
The US President has invited Xi to the White House in September.
Trump may travel to Shenzhen in China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November. And Xi could come to the G-20 summit in December in Miami.
“This is a summit again that was heavier on symbolism than it was on substance — focus on managing problems, not on solving the problems that exist between the US and China,” said Rush Doshi, former National Security Council deputy senior director for China and Taiwan in the Biden administration.
“The way that both leaders talked about the future indicates that this is going to be part of a process that will play out this year,” said Kurt Campbell, former deputy secretary of State in the Biden administration.
