Bhanjanagar: As many as nine workers were killed after an elevator carrying them snapped and plunged 250 feet down during the ongoing tunnel work for river Bhima-Nira linking project near Akole village at Bhigwan in Pune district, Maharashtra, Monday evening.
Among the nine were two migrant workers from Ganjam district, it was learnt. They have been identified as Balram Swain and Susant Padhi of Singhamardan village under Gangpur police limits.
“It was not even a month since they had gone to Pune in search of work. This happened when they were engaged in the tunnel work,” family members said. The tragedy has left the families of the deceased in distress as they were the sole breadearners of their families.
Their bodies were reportedly sent to their villages after post-mortem and were expected to reach Wednesday. Other migrant workers of the village are returning with the bodies.
According to family members, Balram and Susant had been best friends since childhood. To eke out a living, the two friends had decided to go to Pune where they were engaged at the tunnel construction site along with 10 other workers from their village.
At least 300 workers were engaged in the construction of the project taken up by the Maharashtra government. The project aims to link rivers from water-rich areas to those in the chronically dry regions. In the first phase, work for which is going on in Indapur taluka, a 24km-long tunnel is being constructed to link Neera River with the Ujani Watershed Project on Bhima River.
On the fateful day, Balram and Susant went to work while their friends had to work in another shift. As per primary information, the elevator carrying the workers fell 250 feet down after the cable wire snapped mid-way. Nine persons including Susant and Balram were killed on the spot. T
he accident has been termed as one of the worst in recent times. Although, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced financial aid of Rs 2 lakh each for the bereaved families, the deaths have left their families in lurch. PNN
