Worker dies as pipe falls on him at YTPS site in Raichur

Angry labourers assault contractor, ransack office

A worker died after a huge pipe came crashing down on him from a crane at the Yermaras Thermal Power Station (YTPS) site near Raichur on Tuesday. Hundreds of workers and local residents, enraged by the incident, went on a rampage and ransacked the office at the plant site.

The deceased has been identified as Mahesh (27), a native of Uttar Pradesh. The accident occurred at 12 noon when a crane was lowering a huge pipe at the work site. The chain, which was fastened to the pipe, got loosened and fell on Mahesh, injuring him seriously. Durgappa, the local contractor,  shifted Mahesh to Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims), where he died.

The incident led to protests by workers at the site. They went on a rampage and ransacked the site office damaging furniture. They also assaulted the local contractor.

As the news spread, hundreds of local people wielding clubs and iron rods attempted to enter the under-construction YTPS unit. They threw stones at the houses of the workers after the police prevented them from entering the power plant. Tension prevailed for a while as the workers at the site too resorted to a protest. Superintendent of Police M N Nagaraj clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC.

Meanwhile, the workers at the site decided to quit their jobs and return to their native places. They vacated their houses and walked towards the exit of the work site along with their family members and household articles. However, the local residents assembled at the gate and staged a dharna. The SP, as a precautionary measure, extended the ban orders to a radius of five kilometres from the work site.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Papaiah, said the workers were shifted to safety by 15 buses. He said that they would be ferried to the nearest bus stand or railway station so that they can reach their native places.

Karnataka Power Corporation Limited Chief Engineer (Mechanical) Laksh told Deccan Herald that the workers hailed from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

He said that the damage caused at the work site office has been estimated at Rs one crore. The Superintendent of Police said that cases had been booked in connection with the worker’s death and ransacking of the office.

On January 17, two labourers working on an underground pipe supplying water to the cooling tower of YTPS were buried alive after mud caved in on them.