A sanitation worker hired by the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) on contract basis died at work allegedly while cleaning an open gutter on Tuesday, January 31. Yellesh (27), who belongs to a Scheduled Caste (Madiga community), fell into an open nala or gutter that was about four feet deep while manually cleaning plastic waste by standing above it, according to SCB contract workers’ association president Narasimha. The incident happened in the Bowenpally police station limits on Tuesday morning.
Speaking to The News Minute, Narasimha alleged that Yellesh’s death was a result of the negligence of SCB authorities, as they had not employed enough workers. "As there is not enough workforce, there is a lot of work pressure on workers, but not even basic support is provided to the workers,” he alleged. According to Narasimha, Yellesh was accompanied by two other workers who had moved away from the drain for about 15 minutes. “When they returned, they couldn’t find him. They then saw only his hand reaching above. They pulled him out but he had died by then,” he said.
SCB ward 1 member J Maheshwar Reddy visited the spot, as the incident occurred in the dividing drainage line between ward 1 and ward 6. "We have JCB machines to clean the drains. However, to manually clear some plastic clutter, Yellesh had gone down into a pit filled with drainage water that was four to five feet deep. The exact cause of his fall – whether he suffered convulsions due to a chronic health issue or whether he slipped and fell – is unknown," Maheshwar Reddy told TNM. The ward member further added that all the workers have life insurance worth Rs 5 lakh. So far, no compensation has been announced by the SCB authorities, he said.
Bowenpally Inspector of Police K Ravi Kumar said that a case of suspicious death was registered over Yellesh’s death under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), but on investigating, ruled his death an accident as he had slipped and fallen inside. “Today, we lost a young worker, whose family was dependent on him. We demand at least Rs 30 lakh compensation from the SCB authorities for the victim's family," said Narasimha.