Labour Dept orders Rs 7 lakh compensation to kin of deceased in drain deaths

The Labour Department has asked a private contractor to pay Rs 7 lakh compensation to the family of a safai karamchari (sanitation worker) who died on Monday while cleaning a manhole outside the ESI Hospital here.

Deputy Labour Commissioner Rita Bhadoria said, “Family members of the deceased had given an application to the Labour Department seeking compensation. We have taken the complaint seriously and sent a notice to contractor Sardar Singh asking him to pay a compensation of Rs 7 lakh.”

On Monday, Bablu (28), a cleaner at the ESI Hospital, had entered the manhole. When he didn’t come out for a long time, a nearby fruit-seller, Shyamveer, entered the manhole to rescue him.