Nayagarh: Even as labourers in this town are made to work under hazardous condition at various under-construction building projects, the administration prefers to turn a blind eye towards this, a report said.
For instance, five workers were seen working on the top floor of a three-storey building, close to a suspending high voltage naked wire, at Trinath Chhak Wednesday.
Neither the Notified Area Council (NAC) nor the energy department pays heed to the threat to human lives despite recent death of two workers in successive months.
Dilip Sahoo, 28, a worker of Nua Jayapur village of Muthagadia panchayat, was electrocuted July 31 while working in an under-construction building at Jubilee Market. The owner of that building didn’t obtain ‘no objection certificate’ (NOC) from the NAC authorities for the construction. Police registered a case of unnatural death but didn’t arrest the house owner for violation of government norm.
Similarly, another worker Manoj Rout, 30, of Joutukapatna in Kridashpur panchayat came in contact with a livewire while he was engaged in a work in Talakort Sahi. The role of police here also came under scanner as they sat pretty after registering a case.
Locals questioned as to how contractors manage to escape legal action despite engaging workers in extremely hazardous environment.
The silence of labour unions in this matter is also baffling, some locals said.
NAC chairman Guruprasad Jena said approval of the building plan is a must for construction of houses. “We are taking action against those found violating the norms,” he added.
Power distribution company, Cesu’s, junior manager Aditya Kumar Mishra said he would visit the construction site at Trinath Chhak and notice would be served on the house owner if any irregularities are detected.
