Two workers suffocate to death in manhole while cleaning
Shivamogga, August 06: Two daily wage workers died of suffocation while cleaning the newly constructed manhole of an UGD on NT Road in the city on Monday afternoon.
The victims were identified as Anjani (18) and Venkatesh (32) of Bentekatte in Jagalur taluk in Chitradurga district.
The bodies were lifted from the manhole and taken to the McGann Hospital mortuary for postmortem. A case was registered against the contractor at Doddapete police station. The police also took Thippeshi, the person who brought the workers, into their custody. It is said that there are chances of booking the cases against the contractor under various sections of the IPC.
About the incident
The Karnataka Water Supply Board has been working on UGD works in the city for the last many years. Andhra Pradesh-based contractor has got the contract. The work was about to complete in many places and in the place where the workers died, the UGD and drainage were being checked by releasing the water. For this reason, the workers were pressed into cleaning work. Workers were hired from Jagalur taluk. The victims recently came here for the work.
While checking, the water was not flowing freely inside the manhole which is 20-25 ft depth. Due to which, Anjani was deployed to the work. But even after ten minutes, Anjani did not come up. Suspecting something fishy, Venkatesh also climbed down. But when Venkatesh also did not come up, they found that both of them suffocated to death. Suddenly, the police were informed about the incident and the bodies were lifted up.
The manhole was closed for a few months due to which the poisonous gas was filled in it. As the manhole is more than 20 ft depth, the percentage of oxygen was less in the bottom of the manhole. The tragedy happened as the workers were sent down without taking any precautionary measures, it is said.
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Ramdas Athawale backs Fadnavis as Maharashtra CM; says Shinde can shift to Centre
New Delhi, Nov 26: RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale, a key BJP ally, on Tuesday called for a quick decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra and suggested that incumbent Eknath Shinde should shift to the Centre as a Union minister.
Addressing a press conference here, Athawale also backed senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister of Maharashtra, contending that the saffron party won the maximum number of seats in the 288-member Assembly and should have the right to the top executive post in the state.
He said a peculiar situation has arisen in Maharashtra where BJP leaders want Fadnavis as the chief minister, while Shiv Sena leaders want Shinde to continue in the post, citing the good work he has done over the last two and a half years.
Athawale, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has declared that he was not in the race for the chief minister.
"We need to resolve this matter, without any further delay. The election results were announced on November 23 and we should have had the oath of the new chief minister on November 26, the Constitution Day," Athawale said.
Backing Fadnavis for the post of chief minister, Athawale said Shinde can become the deputy chief minister or shift to the Centre and join the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Athawale said his RPI(A) has a presence in every part of the state, but unfortunately lost the two seats -- Dharavi and Kalina -- offered to it in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
He demanded that an RPI member be made an MLC and a minister in the state government.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections winning 235 seats in the 288-member House. The BJP won 132 seats, followed by Shinde-led Shiv Sena (57) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP (41). Smaller parties, who are part of the alliance, won five seats.
