PALAMANER: Eight workers of Sri Venkateswara Hatcheries died of asphyxiation at Moram village in Palamaner mandal on Friday when they entered the underground main drain to clean it manually without any protective gear. The hatchery, one of the largest in the country, is located just 2 km away from Chennai - Bangalore highway.
The deceased workers were identified as M Ramesh (32) of Moram, B Ramachandra (23) of Srirangarajapuram, A Reddappa (30) of Moram,
G Govinda Swamy (35) of Kurmayi, R Babu (30) of Chennai Annapalli in Mulbagal taluk, Karnataka, Kesava (20) of Ayyamreddipalli, Venkata Rajulu (23) of Arigevaripalli, and Shiva Kumar Reddy (46) of Kadiri.
According to information, a group of eight workers was deployed to clean the main drain, which is done once in a quarter. They opened the manhole cover and entered the drain by climbing down the stairs for cleaning it. They felt that the stench was very strong and unbearable as the excreta of poultry birds got piled up in it.
As soon as they started removing the piled up excreta from the drain, they suffered asphyxiation and fainted. On seeing them fainted, a worker who stayed at the top of the drain, alerted other workers in the hatchery. Soon they brought protective gear for the workers. By that time, five of the eight workers had died. The remaining three workers were finding it very difficult to breath.
The workers were rushed to the Area Hospital at Palamaner where two of them were declared brought dead. The doctors at the hospital tried to save Shiva Kumar. But their efforts went in vain and he succumbed in the afternoon. According to the hospital superintendent, the workers died due to inhaling of feculent poison in the drain of the hatchery. Following the death of eight workers due to asphyxiation, a pall of gloom descended on Moram, a small village with 94 houses.
On hearing the news, the kin of deceased workers reached Moram and some thronged the Area Hospital at Palamaner. They blamed the management of hatchery for the death of workers stating that it failed to provide them protective gear before deploying them for cleaning the underground drain manually.
On hearing the news, Chittoor District Collector PS Pradyumna rushed to Moram. He directed SP SV Rajasekhar Babu to seal Sri Venkateswara Hatcheries. Meanwhile, the hatchery management announced an ex gratia of Rs 15 lakh each for all the eight victims.
An ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh each, including aid under Chandranna Bima scheme, was also announced for the victims. The ex gratia amount will be disbursed to the victims’ families within 48 hours. The education of children of victims will also be taken care of by the State government, besides provision of family pension.