Contractor who hired workers untraceable, says minister

A day after three men died of suffocation while cleaning a South Delhi sewer, Delhi water minister Rajendra Gautam on Monday said the contractor who reportedly engaged the men is absconding.

“We need to find that person to find why and under whose authority were the men engaged in the work and that too without any protective gear. No Delhi Jal Board engineer is taking responsibility. So we don’t know why were those three there. They were not our staff,” Gautam said.

The three persons were cleaning a sewer line in Lajpat Nagar near the Kabir Ram temple on Sunday afternoon. They went inside, inhaled toxic fumes and were found unconscious.

Police filed a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the private contractor who hired the three to clean the DJB sewer line but did not provide protective equipment.

The civic bodies are required to give boots, helmets, gloves and masks to sanitation staff but the guidelines are rarely followed.

The authorities claim that the cleaning staff is so used to working with their bare hands that even if safety equipment is provided they don’t use it.

On Monday, the water minister, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, the Delhi Jal Board CEO and the local district magistrate was scheduled to visit the site. But they had to cancel the plan due to heavy traffic jams.

Asked if the government planned any compensation for the victims, the water minister said a decision will be taken once there is clarity on the incident.

Earlier on Sunday, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari sought a highlevel probe into the case and compensation for victim families, in line with what DJB staff gets.