7 women farm labourers die as tractor-trolley plunges into well in Nanded; 3 rescued
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Apr 4 (PTI): Seven women farm labourers, two of them aged 18, died and three others were rescued after a tractor-trolley ferrying them to an agriculture field plunged into a well in Nanded district of Maharashtra on Friday morning, an official said.
The accident occurred at around 7.30 am in Asegaon village which lies under jurisdiction of Limbgaon police station when the vehicle veered off the road and fell into the well filled to the brim with water, said District Information Officer (DIO) Pravin Take said.
Police and local administration officials immediately launched a rescue operation and pumped out a large amount of water from the well, he said.
At the end of the operation, bodies of seven women were fished out of the well, while three others were rescued, said the DIO.
"The woman were on their way to harvest turmeric at a farm. All those who died hailed from Gunj village under Vasmat tehsil in Hingoli district," the official said.
The deceased were identified as Tarabai Satwaji Jadhav (35), Dhrupata Satwaji Jadhav (18), Saraswati Lakhan Burad (25), Simran Santosh Kamble (18), Chaitrabai Madhav Pardhe (45), Jyoti Irabaji Saraode (35), Sapna Tukaram Raut (25), he said.
Three other women farm labourers - Parvatibai Burad (35), Purbhabai Kamble (40), Satwaji Jadhav (55) -- were rescued from the water body.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the accident and announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PM's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the next of kin of each deceased.
The injured will be given Rs 50,000 each, he said.
"Saddened by the loss of lives in an accident in Nanded, Maharashtra. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is assisting those affected," the Prime Minister said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the death of farm labourers and separately announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family of each deceased.
"Some women died in an accident in Asegaon, Nanded district, this morning when a tractor trolley carrying 11 women labourers fell into a well. I pay my heartfelt tributes to them. These women were from Gunjgaon, Hingoli district, and were going for agricultural work," he posted on X.
"The families of the deceased will be given a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund," he declared.
"Three women were rescued safely. We are in touch with both Hingoli and Nanded administrations," the CM said.
Later, talking to reporters, Fadnavis said an inquiry has been ordered into the accident and steps will be taken to ensure such incidents do not recur.
नांदेडमध्ये भीषण अपघात; शेतमजूरांचा ट्रॅक्टर विहिरीत कोसळला, नऊ जण दगावले#Nanded #accident pic.twitter.com/FgOvNSlKEe
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Water crisis hits Ballari’s jeans industry as over 100 units shut temporarily, hundreds left jobless
Ballari: A severe water shortage in Karnataka's Ballari is crippling the region’s jeans industry, leading to the temporary closure of over 100 jeans units and leaving hundreds of workers unemployed. The crisis, which has been ongoing for over a month, has reportedly left the industry in turmoil as many units that are still running are using tanker water, which is expensive.
Ballari, often referred to as the "Jeans Capital" of India, is home to 732 jeans production units, which rely heavily on water-intensive washing processes. The industry association has requested the administration to provide sufficient water to run the units, as reported by The New Indian Express on Tuesday.
All the 732 jeans factories in Ballari depend on fifteen washing units to finish their products. Although water shortages have been a recurring issue every summer for the past decade, no permanent solution has been found, the report added.
The situation has reached a critical point, with many units halting production due to the skyrocketing cost of water. Industry associations have appealed to the local administration for a more reliable water supply, but their repeated requests have largely been ignored by both officials and political leaders.
An owner of one of the units noted that summer started 15 days early this year which exacerbated the situation. “Instead of waiting and paying more money to wash jeans products, some owners have shut their units for four to five months. This has left a large number of people unemployed,” TNIE quoted the owner as saying.
Meanwhile, owners of the jeans washing units are pinning their hopes on the apparel park planned by the Karnataka state government, which is expected to provide a dedicated water pipeline from the Tungabhadra Dam to address the ongoing water shortage.
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