CHENNAI: Six sanitary workers died in suspected toxic gas incidents in Tamil Nadu over the past 10 days, prompting the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) to urge the state government to establish sanitation engineering departments in higher education institutions to prevent such deaths.
In the latest incidents, three workers died and another was hospitalised in separate accidents in Chennai on October 12.
Asmath Basha (38), from Periya Hasthinapuram in Arcot, Ranipet, and Naveenkumar (34), from West Tambaram, died after inhaling toxic gas while repairing a faulty electric motor in a 20-foot-deep well built for a stormwater drain pump in Kodungaiyur, under the Perambur constituency. Sewage that had entered the rainwater collection structure from nearby drains is suspected to have generated the gas.
In a separate incident on Veerasamy Street in Pallikaranai, Kesavan (29), from Nelli village in Chengalpattu district, died after inhaling toxic gas while cleaning a sewage tank at a house belonging to a woman named Aishwarya. Rajesh (49), a resident of the same locality who was working with him, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Earlier, on October 2, three workers—Ramachandran from Senthurai in Ariyalur and Bhaskar and Dinakaran from Tiruvarur—died after inhaling toxic gas while constructing a septic tank in Gandhi Nagar, Senthurai.
The TNUEF said a case under the appropriate legal provisions was registered only after its leaders and those of the CPM protested.
It demanded compensation of Rs 30 lakh for each of the families of the four workers who died in the Pallikaranai and Ariyalur incidents, along with government employment for one member of each affected family, in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling.
Urging the government to establish sanitation engineering departments in higher education institutions, TNUEF state president T Chellakannu and general secretary P Sugandhi said specialised training and modern technological interventions were essential to prevent workers from being exposed to toxic gases and hazardous working conditions.