Worker loses legs in shredding machine in Kanjurmarg

MUMBAI: A worker – Lakari Mahato – lost both his legs below the knees after they got stuck in the blades of a shredding machine at the Kanjurmarg dumping ground last week. A case has been registered against the supervisors in charge – Sumant Kadam and Noor Mohammed Sheikh – of the machine.

According to the police, the

FIR was registered on Wednesday after a preliminary inquiry.

On November 19, Lakari was on the night shift and was assigned the operation of the shredding machine, which shreds large pieces of waste, before sending the material for recycling. “At around 2.40 am, a large stone got stuck in the blades of the shredding machine, bringing it to a halt,” said the complainant, Shyama Mahato – cousin of Lakari.

The injured hit the emergency button to stop the machine and tried to remove the stone, he added. After a few minutes of effort, he pried the stone loose but at the same time lost his footing.

As a result, both his legs slipped into the blades just as they clamped shut.

Other workers at the scene immediately put Lakari in a private vehicle belonging to the contractor and rushed him to the Sion Hospital, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care

Unit (ICU). He has, however, lost both his legs from the knee downwards, as those were sliced by the blades.

The hospital authorities subsequently informed the Vikhroli police about the incident, and a team was sent to the hospital to conduct inquiries.

“After speaking to Lakari and Shyama, we visited the dumping ground and recorded statements from other eyewitnesses as well as took stock of safety precautions at the spot,” said a police officer.

Based on these inquiries, the police on Wednesday booked the two supervisors in charge of the shredding plant for causing injury by negligence under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

“Lakari has an ailing mother and an aged father back home in his native Assam,” Shyama said.

He added that Lakari will never be able to walk again but our contractor has said that he will provide whatever help he can for expenses towards prosthetics and possible earning opportunities,” Shyama said.

A senior official who is part of the operations at the Kanjurmarg dumping ground said that ideally, workers need to be trained in terms of precautions that they should take while working with risky machinery.

“We are taking care of all the medical expenses and any other help that can be provided,” the official said.