Case registered against contractor

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 19

A day after Mohamad Sayed died while laying a sewer line, the police have registered a case under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC.

The Labour Department too has asked the XEN, Operation and Maintenance (O&M), regarding the action taken in the matter.

Balwinder Singh, Labour Enforcement Officer, said: “It would be checked if the worker was registered with us or not.”

“We will also take action against MC officials after initiating an inquiry in the matter,” he said.

The officer added that he had called the MC officials and the contractor when they reached the site today, but no one picked the call. Officials of the Labour Department and the O&M branch of the Municipal Corporation visited the spot today.

The officials of the O&M branch said after the loose earth starting sliding the worker, in a bid to move out, put his foot on the water supply line which got damaged and the accident occurred. They had come to repair the water supply line.

Strangely till this afternoon, the MC officials were saying that they had not talked to the contractor in this regard as his phone was “switched off”.

MC Commissioner Diprava Lakra said a show-cause notice would be sent to the contractor.

Satinder, XEN, O&M, when asked about lack of precautionary measures in the incident accepted that ropes should have been there. A contract worth Rs 12 lakh was given to the Punjab Engineering Cooperative Society to carry out the work of laying of 1,200 ft sewer line, of which, the XEN claimed that 800 ft line had already got laid. “The work was to get completed in four months since it had started but it has already crossed its deadline,” he said.

When asked him that wasn’t it wrong for the contractor to make the workers work till late evening, he said: “Contractors often do this.”

When asked about the departmental action, he said the police would take action against the contractor.

Kishor Bansal, Superintending Engineer, O&M branch, however, claimed that he had spoken to the contractor.

“He told me that he would speak to us after this problem will get solved,” he said.

He also said departmental action would be taken against the contractor.