PRESS RELEASE

New Delhi, 7th April, 2016

The National Human Rights Commission has taken a serious view of the deaths of two labourers in a manhole and two others who went to save them in Doddaballapura Town Municipality area of Bengaluru, Karnataka on the 4th April, 2016. It has observed that in many such cases, necessary precautions are not taken and the workers are put to work without providing safety gear. Accordingly, it has issued notices to the Commissioner, Doddaballapura Municipality Council and Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru (Rural) calling for detailed reports in the matter within eight weeks.

The Commission took cognizance the matter on the basis of a complaint citing a media report that two labourers were put to manually clean the manholes in the area. They were employed by a Hyderabad based construction company which was given contact by the Doddaballapura Town Municipality. The labourers when got into one of the manholes, the noxious gases choked them and they screamed for help. Two passersby, who came to help them, also slipped inside the manhole. The local people alerted the police as well as the Fire department, who reached there and launched a rescue operation. A trench was dug adjacent to the manhole in order to retrieve the victims, who had by that time died. A criminal case against the contractor has been registered under Section 304A of the IPC.

The Commission has observed that the incidents relating to the deaths of workers, put to work of manual cleaning of the manholes have come to the notice of the Commission on many occasions through media reports as well as through complaints received from the individuals and the NGOs. There have been standing guidelines for precautions to be taken while cleaning the manholes.

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