Rourkela/Vedavyas: Most of the workers engaged in small and medium scale industries operating in Kalunga Industrial Estate work under hazardous condition without any safety gears, a report said.
The recent death of a worker, after falling from a height of 50 feet in a private factory, in Tainsara area is a case in point.
In the absence of minimum safety measures like safety shoes, safety belts and helmets in various factories, many hapless workers lose their lives. This apart, no security officers are appointed to ensure the safety of the workers.
Though workers die while working in factories in Kalunga on regular basis, the factory owners often suppress such matters and the news doesn’t reach the Labour Department, it is alleged.
Such tragedies would continue to take place unless there is a change in the mentality of the factory owners, said some locals.
Blaming the factory owners, senior advocate Rajendra Sahoo said it is a common knowledge that the safety norms are not enforced in industries leading to untimely deaths of labourers. The Labour Department should look into the matter, he said.
Pramod Pradhan, a local youth leader, said exemplary action should be taken against people who overlook the safety rules to check such incidents.
The owners laugh their way to the banks by making labouers work round the clock, but the family members of the victims often find themselves at the receiving end after the death of a worker, said a local woman leader Sunita Singh.
BJD observer for Rourkela, Manas Mohanty was of the opinion that workers’ safety should be the priority. The rate of death due to industrial mishaps can largely be controlled by taking small precautions, he added.
When contacted, Brahmanitarang IIC Shubhanarayan Muduli said there is a dedicated department and special officials to check the safety arrangement in factories. Police have always acted on the allegations related to workers’ death, Muduli added.
PNN