Yesterday, two workers engaged in stormwater drain work in the Kodungaiyur area of Vijay’s Perambur constituency died after being exposed to toxic gas.
Their bodies were kept in the mortuary of Stanley Hospital. We went to Stanley Hospital to meet the affected families.
The two who died were Naveen Kumar and Basha. Both were middle-aged. Outside the mortuary of Stanley Hospital, the families of both men were crying uncontrollably, unable to bear the loss.
We could not speak at all with Basha’s family. They were devastated and in no state to talk. Naveen Kumar’s family had staged a protest outside the mortuary, putting forward a few demands. We went up to them, offered our condolences, and spoke with them.
Naveen Kumar’s wife Preethi, sitting outside the mortuary holding their one-and-a-half-year-old child in her arms, said, “They took him saying it was for a motor dismantling job... He used to go for such jobs often. I don’t know what happened. They’re saying he’s gone. What will I and my family do now?”
My mother has been bedridden for 5 years. I don’t have any brothers or sisters. He was the one responsibly taking care of both our house and their house. It’s only been two and a half years since we got married. The child is one and a half years old.
I can’t even hold the child in my arms and cry. I’m scared something might have happened to the child. If this little one asks tomorrow where their father is, what will I say? Please get justice for my child...” she said, holding the child and unable to hold back her tears.
While Navin’s aunt was consoling Preethi, she said, “Our whole family has been a struggling family. We used to go to whatever job we could get each day and live off the wages we earned. No one even properly informed us that this had happened to our child.
Three people were working. Two died. They said one person survived. We believed that the child who survived might be our child... but no one properly gave us any information. They called us from the police station and asked us to come sign the papers.
They said nothing could be done next unless we signed. It’s only been two and a half years since our children got married. He’s gone without even fully seeing what life is...'' she sobbed, unable to speak.
“Yesterday afternoon, the boy died. We were only informed at seven at night. Even then, the police called and didn’t even properly explain how the incident happened. No one should ever have to face a situation like this. If it’s such a dangerous job, shouldn’t those who oversee it provide proper safety or not?
How did you send them to work without even a mask? For jobs like this, respect the lives of our people too. Our child’s life is gone. Today we are standing in the street and crying. This kind of situation should never happen to another family again. The government must find a way to prevent that.
"The government should give a job to the wife of our deceased son. Only if she has a job will that girl be able to live with dignity in society tomorrow," say Naveen Kumar's relatives.
On behalf of the government, compensation of Rs. 30 lakh each has been provided to Basha and Naveen Kumar's family members. The government says action has been taken against the concerned officials as well as the contractor.
Such deaths of daily wage workers are brutal. It is a grave tragedy that governments, which pour tens of thousands of crores into development projects, cannot ensure the safety of an ordinary worker.