Gujarat-based firm to face police action after two staffers die in sewage manhole

Bhopal, Dec 15 The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday ordered an FIR against a Gujarat-based private firm that was awarded a sewage work contract, a couple of days after two of its employees died of suffocation in a sewage manhole here.

An enquiry report of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that the incident occurred due to lack of safety standard by the construction company. The BMC had submitted its enquiry report to the state development department late on Tuesday.

Subsequently, State Urban Development Minister Bhupendra Singh on Wednesday ordered for registration of an FIR against officials of a Gujarat-based private construction firm after its two staffers, including a minor.

Meanwhile, the minister has also ordered a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the relatives of the two and to impose a penalty on the company, the statement said.

The minister wrote a letter to Bhopal police commissioner to register an FIR against officials of the Ankita Construction company, engaged in a sewage project in the MP capital city, it said.

"The firm did not provide necessary safety gear required for sewage-related works to its staffers, resulting in the incident," it said.

The two men were identified as Dipak Kumar Singh (28), an engineer hailing from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, and labourer Bharat Singh (a minor), resident of MP's Jhabua district.

The incident came to light after a passerby noticed a man lying unresponsive inside the manhole and alerted the police.

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