Palghar: Three contract labourers died of suffocation while cleaning a sewage treatment tank at a housing complex in Palghar district on Tuesday, police said. Another labourer was missing, they said.
The private housing complex in Virar West on has a 25- feet deep sewage treatment plant and labourers were hired to clean it, said a police officer. The officer at the Virar police station told reporters that four labourers in their 20s entered the plant at around 11.30am to clean it, but did not come out.
Local fire service personnel were immediately called and they found three bodies in the plant which, were pulled out and sent for post-mortem, he said, adding the trio died of suffocation during the cleaning operation. A search for the fourth labourer was underway, he added. A case of accidental death was registered and the police were investigating the incident, the officer added.
3 Killed Earlier After Falling Into Septic Tank
On March 21, three persons Suraj Kevat, 18, his brother, Vikas Kevat, 22, and their father, Ram Lagat Kevat, 45, fell into the septic tank attached to the tank that they were cleaning in Malvani, Malad West. Suraj and Vikas died on the same day while the father died in a hospital days later. As per the residents, the public toilet was maintained by the Kevat family, for which they would get some fees from the residents.
Since the tank had not been cleaned for a long time, they had decided to clean themselves. On the fateful day, the youngest son, Suraj, was told to clean the tank. However, when he slipped in, his elder brother Vikas jumped in to save his brother, followed by his father Ramlagan Kevat and their neighbour Amin Sheikh,17. While Suraj died, his brother and father and Sheikh were pulled out by the locals and admitted to Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital in Kandivali. Vikas also died on the same day, while his father, who was admitted in critical condition, succumbed later.
"The family is left with a mother, 16-year-old daughter Kusum and nine-year-old son Krishna. They lost their only breadwinner. Who will now look after them, who will bear the expenses of their education?" said Vaishali Mahadik, a local social worker.
The other neighbour said, "They asked BMC to provide help with cleaning the septic tank. But was demanded to give Rs5,000 for the work. They decided to clean the tank themselves. The civic body should take responsibility for this incident and compensate the family. The mother went unconscious after she was informed about the death of her youngest son."
