Cuttack: Sanitary worker falls into open drain while cleaning, dies

Cuttack: Yet another man died allegedly after falling into an open drain near Barapathar of Cuttack’s Buxi Bazaar on Wednesday. This is the third such instance occurred under the jurisdiction of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) in last three months.

One P. Narsinga, a sanitary worker, was reportedly employed by the officials of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project to clean the open drain. However, he died after falling into it. His body was recovered and sent to the SCB Medical College and Hospital for postmortem.

Officials of the JICA project had engaged my brother and husband to clean the drain and had assured to give them Rs 500 each. My husband stayed outside the drain while my brother entered into it to clean. After sometime, my brother felt uneasiness and we tried to bring him out of the drain. However, he died on the spot,” alleged the sister of the 35-year-old deceased sanitary worker.

Meanwhile, some residents of the Sliver City condemned the unfortunate incident as this is the third such instance in last three months. Earlier, one Rahul, a resident of Rajasthan died after falling into an open drain at ward no 26 in Cuttack on July 16. Likewise, a minor girl succumbed while undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital after she sustained grievous injuries when an iron bridge collapsed at Gamadia locality of Cuttack in May this year.

The residents of the locality also staged a road blockade and demanded adequate compensation for the family members of the deceased Narsinga.