* By C K George
Thiruvananthapurm, July 16 (IVC) The Railways should pay substantial compensation and gainful employment to the dependents of the Sanitary worker who was flown dead during the work of cleaning waste ,for the Railways are accountable for his death.
Joy a 47- year – old sanitary worker was reported missing on July 13 at 1100 hours at Amayizhanja canal (Thiruvananthapuram) which crosses through under the Thampanoor rail tracks. His body was found floating after 46 hours on the morning of July 15. The body was floating after a kilometer away from the spot from where he was reported missing.
Joy was the only bread-winner of his family of his mother and two sisters. It was the bounden duty of the Railways to provide gainful employment to his two sisters without any delay besides paying a compensation of at least Rs 100 million to his family.
It was great shame on the part of the Railways and its contractor that they could not take prompt action to save the life of Joy. The railways should have entrusted with the work of sanitation with well experienced and equipped contractor capable of successfully facing any exigency during the process of cleaning waste accumulated for several years.
It would be looked into that the Railways entrusted the work after inviting tenders. The other two workers who were with Joy had miraculous escape . According to media reports, a rope was thrown to Joy with a view to escaping for him , but he could hold the rope and escape.
The pertinent question arose here was that what the Railways and the contractor were doing to save the life of Joy when they knew that Joy’s life was in danger since ll00 hours July 13. If the Railways and its contractor had taken appropriate steps then and there to escape the sanitary worker Joy would have not gone to Davy Jones’s locker.
The fault with the Railways was that it had entrusted the work of complicated waste removal with an experienced and equipped contractor. There was also criminal negligence on the part of the Railways and its contractor in taking prompt action to save the life of Joy.
The negligence on the part of the Railways and its contractor amounted to abetment to the crime of felony. Hence the Railways and its contractor are responsible for the death of Joy and therefore they are accountable for it.
It is a must for the Railways to provide gainful employment to the dependents of the deceased sanitary worker as he was only the bread winner of his family. It would not be enough even if the Railways paid a solation of Rs 100 million for his family.
