Man chokes to death in manhole, another critical

A 24-year-old man died due to asphyxiation while another is in a critical condition after inhaling gas while cleaning a manhole of RNS Shanti Nivas apartment on Tumakuru Road in Yeshwantapur on Tuesday evening.

The deceased is Venkatesh, a native of Tumakuru while Manjunath, 26, is critical. Both of them were living in Yeshwantpur and were working for LNV Agency, a sewage treatment unit.

On Tuesday around 5.30 pm, Mohan Krishna, the contractor of the unit, received a complaint from the apartment about a choked manhole. Venkatesh and Manjunath, who were sent to clean the manhole, opened the lid of the manhole. Venkatesh got in and after a couple of minutes, Manjunath called out for Venkatesh but got no response, said the police.

Manjunath also got into the manhole to check on Venkatesh and found him unconscious. He tried to pull him out but couldn’t as he too lost conscious. The public noticed the manhole open and found the duo inside. They alerted the Yeshwantpur police, who visited the spot with the Fire and Emergency service personnel. Both of them were pulled out of the manhole and shifted to a nearby private hospital where Venkatesh was declared brought dead.

Manjunath, who was gasping for breath, was taken to Sparsh Hospital and is in a critical condition, added the police. “They were supposed to fix a suction pipe and jetting machine to clean the manhole. But it is not sure why they got into the manhole. Venkatesh’s brother has registered a complaint and investigation will be carried out. Krishna, who had hired them, will be arrested for negligence,” said a senior police officer.

“Both of them suffocated as they inhaled noxious gas inside the manhole. Venkatesh died due to asphyxiation and Manjunath, who went to pull him out, also fainted. If the public had not noticed them, even Manjunath would have died,” added the officer.

Manual scavenging is prohibited under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. But the sewage treatment units do not follow the rules and exploit the workers, police said. They are not supposed to enter the manhole but the owners of the unit force them to. A few residents of the apartment said they asked them to clean the manhole with the help of the jetting machine but they have no idea why they entered the manhole.

They did not wear any protective gear while carrying out the work. Investigation is being carried out to check why they entered the manhole, the police said. A case has been registered in Yeshwantpur police station in this regard.