A sanitation worker died and another one fell ill while cleaning a septic tank without safety gear in the campus of a government laboratory in Bhavnagar.
The incident occurred on the campus of the Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute on Friday, when some sanitation workers of the Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) were cleaning a septic tank using a jetting machine, Municipal Commissioner N.V. Upadhyay said.
The deceased was identified as Rajesh Vegad (45), an employee of the local civic body.
“As per the information provided to us, a sanitation worker of the laboratory entered the tank for cleaning and was affected by some poisonous gas. To bring him to safety, our employee [Vegad] entered the tank. He managed to save the worker, but he himself succumbed to asphyxiation,” the civic body chief said after the incident.
Gujarat has witnessed the deaths of sanitation workers while cleaning sewers or septic tanks in various cities and towns.
“We need a response from the authorities as to why he was allowed to enter the tank when the machine was present. He was the only earning member of our family. The municipal corporation should ensure financial compensation for his family and a job for his son,” a relative of the deceased said.
