Seven labourers died, and five others were injured in an accident at a maize factory in Vijayapura on Monday (December 4). On Tuesday morning, three labourers were confirmed dead, but the death toll rose to seven later.
The deceased have been identified as Krishan alias Kishan Kumar, Rajesh Kumar Mukhiya, Sambu Mukhiya, Luko Yadav, Ramibhrach Mukhiya, Rambalak Mukhiya and Dulhara Chand Mukhiya, all from Bihar.
The injured are Sonu Karamchand, Ravinshkumar, Anil and Kalmeshwar Mukhiya from Bihar and Prakash Dhumagonda from Vijayapura.
Crack in maize-holding silos
On Monday night, as many as 12 workers got stuck under a huge heap of maize that fell on them while working in the godown of Rajguru Foods in the industrial area outside the city. Most of the workers hail from Khagaria, Samasthipur and Begusarai districts of Bihar, the police said.
Officers of the Fire and Emergency Services and police rushed to the spot and began rescue efforts. One injured labourer was rushed to the Ayush hospital at midnight. A team led by SP Hrishikesh Sonawane summoned four earth movers and two cranes to clear the debris and pull out the workers.
The godown has 16 silos erected on metal frames. Each silo contained over 1.5 tonnes of maize. “At least two of them cracked and fell on the workers,’‘ an eyewitness said. Over 150 workers from Bihar had arrived to work at Rajguru and other factories in the industrial area. They would work for 11 months and go home for a month every year.
Case registered
Officers in the APMC police station have registered a case of negligence and a lack of careful management against the owner Kishore Hajarimal Jain and supervisor Praveenchandra Trivedi.
The FIR said a maize corn cleaning machine was malfunctioning, but the owner and supervisor continued to use it instead of sending it for repairs. The FIR was filed based on a complaint by Amarjit Saho Chandrabhushan, one of the labourers hailing from Beelaladiya village of Samashtipur district in Bihar.
Deputy Commissioner T. Bhoobalan requested a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team from Pune to help in the rescue efforts, along with the local police and fire and emergency services personnel. Deputy SP Basavaraj Yeligar coordinated the efforts.
M.B. Patil assures compensation
District in-charge Minister M.B. Patil, who was in Belagavi to attend the winter session, rushed to Vijayapura. He interacted with the other labourers in the factory and said a high-level inquiry would be held to find out the cause of the accident.
He said the factory owner had announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh each to the families of the deceased and ₹2 lakh to the families of the injured. The State government would announce a separate compensation package, he said.
He directed Mr. Bhoobalan to send the bodies of all the deceased workers to their native villages after contacting the deputy commissioners of the various districts in Bihar. He also directed the DC and SP to ensure that the rescue efforts were done promptly to save more lives.
