Two injured are under going treatment in a hospital.
| Photo Credit: File photo
A 43-year-old worker died and two others were injured on Sunday after inhaling toxic fumes while manually cleaning a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) sewer in south-east Delhi’s New Friends Colony, the police said on Monday.
In response, the DJB said the three are “not [its] regular or contractual staff” while adding that it is in charge of the sewer where the incident happened.
“This was an unauthorised access into a DJB sewer manhole, and there were no ongoing works regarding the cleaning of the sewer on Sunday,” it said in a statement.
The deceased has been identified as Panth Lal Chandra and the injured persons as Ramkishan Chandra, 35, and Shiv Das, 25. “The three workers were picked up by a team of the Delhi Fire Services and the police after the incident was reported. All three were unconscious when they were brought out,” said a senior officer.
“All three were rushed to a hospital. While Chandra and Das continue to receive treatment, Panth was declared dead at the hospital,” the officer added.
The police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), along with Sections 7 (prohibition of employment) and 9 (appointment of inspectors to ensure compliance with the act) of the Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
The DJB has written to the police seeking action against those responsible.
Published – March 18, 2025 01:39 am IST