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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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
