It was four years ago when Ram Narayan Rai (45) met his wife’s brother — Vijay Kumar (40). This was in Samastipur district of Bihar when Rai was home for a holiday. Kumar is the reason why Rai traveled from Delhi to Ghaziabad, after four years, to see Kumar again. Or rather, to identify his body.

“He was a hard-working person. No consumption of alcohol or cigarettes. He was focused on his work and would provide well for his family,” recalls Rai as he reaches the spot of the incident.

The incident in question occurred on August 22 in Krishna Kunj colony, Nandgram, Ghaziabad. It took the lives of four contractual workers — Damodar (40), Horil (35), Sandeep Kumar (21) and Shiv Kumar (32) — while they were working on an under-construction manhole.The construction work was part of a new sewage line in the colony. A fifth person, a sub-contractor, was also killed. All of these workers hailed from Samastipur.

The deceased persons were working as part of a project under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation Scheme through a private company, EMS Infracon. A case has been filed against the company under IPC Section 304 for failure to provide safety equipment as per the guidelines of Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013.

Speaking to Patriot, Shailendra Kumar Singh, Additional District Magistrate, who is overseeing a magisterial probe in the case said, “Statements of staff from the private firm are getting registered now. Four officials of Jal Nigam have been suspended. An FIR has also been filed. We have been given two weeks time to conduct the probe, but we’re hoping to complete it within a week.”

None of the workers were provided any protective gear, which a key eyewitness Patriot spoke to also confirmed. All of the five people died due to inhalation of poisonous gas within minutes.

                                                                           The manhole and the drainage line

“The gas accumulated in the manhole after it rained,” the eyewitness said. Since the manhole was opened after an interval, the toxicity of the gas kept increasing.

“They’ve been working here since July. The work was closed for some 15-20 days. They were trying to connect the sewer line with the manhole. The cement work from outside was done and it was time to cement the inside of the manhole,” said Rajveer Singh (62), a grocery store owner.

The distance between Singh’s grocery store and the manhole, the spot of the incident, is barely 10-12 feet. Being one of the key eyewitnesses of the case, Singh was observing the construction in front of his store since days. Not only that, he also used to provide drinking water to the workers.

“They also used to charge their mobile phones at my store,” said Singh. Breaking down the incident, Singh continues, “Around 1:30 pm, one worker went inside the manhole, not too deep, to apply cement.”

He says when the worker began the process, he got little nauseous, and after a minute, fell inside the 18-20 feet deep manhole. Immediately, the sub-contractor, Vijay Kumar, ordered the second worker at the spot to get him out.

The second person too, as soon as he went inside, inhaled poisonous gas and fell. Then, the third person and fourth. Singh who was in his shop says, “It was all so silent that I didn’t hear anything until the thekedar (contractor) shouted, when he went inside to save the other workers.”

“I heard him shouting and calling for a rope and screaming for help. I looked around, there was nobody else around. That was the time when I rushed,” says Singh. According to him, it was only Kumar among the five men who could scream for help in a muffled voice.

The first thing Singh and other residents of the area did is open the lids of the two manholes situated at a distance of about 50 feet from Singh’s store. Right after this, Singh ordered his son to get a table fan from home, which they put near the manhole.

A call for rope was made but Singh says there was a shortage of people to help during those crucial minutes.

Soon after, three persons who were working at the other end came in, and got the bodies out of the manhole. According to Singh, within five minutes, all the men lost consciousness and fell inside the tank.

There was no ambulance or a police vehicle, only a fire brigade which reached the spot 20 minutes later. Singh says when a resident tried contacting the cops, he couldn’t. It was then that a local resident put the information on Twitter and asked for help.

“There was a man in front and at the back plus the fainted person in the middle. Turn by turn, they were rushed to the hospital.” The bodies were rushed to Mariam Hospital in the locality. The were declared dead on arrival.

The police has registered an FIR against the contractor, private firm (EMS Infracon) and three engineers of Jal Nigam.

Vijay’s brother-in-law, Ram Narayan Rai regrets not meeting Vijay when he had the chance. “We were always cordial and used to have brief chat about films.”

At Hindon Mortuary, Ram Prasad, who hailed from the same village as these men, said, “I came all the way from Bulandshahr to see Vijay. We are not related but we used to walk around the village and talk. These sewer lines have taken so many lives. It’s a huge fear in our minds. Safety is our utmost concern.”

“When the second person did not come out, the third person should not have gone inside. Two lives were already gone. At least three could’ve been saved. But your mind doesn’t work in these kinds of situations,” he said.

Prasad told us that he also cleans sewers and drains in Bulandshahr. He has been in this life-threatening profession for 45 years.

When he was asked if he is provided with gear, he replied “Yes, I have never gone in the tank without wearing proper safety gear. It’s stupid to go inside the tank without that. I’ve refused many times when there was no gear at hand.”

“Whenever I have to clean a tank, I keep the manhole open in the evening, a day before going inside. So that the poisonous gas is out by the time we go in,” said Prasad. He says, the lapses by authorities keep happening, so it’s the workers who must safeguard their lives.

He adds, “While working even if we see some mud falling, we come out instantly. You have to be constantly vigilant about your own safety in this profession.”

A farmer too, Prasad says, “Farm work is seasonal in our village. When there’s nothing going on in the fields, you need to look for work. So we take whatever work we get. We can’t afford to be choosy.”

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh — Yogi Adityanath — has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the five deceased and has directed an enquiry. The report has to be submitted within two weeks.

According to the data of Safai Karmchari Andolan, 37 deaths have been reported so far in Uttar Pradesh this year. Although tall claims have been made by authorities across states to introduce automatic sewage cleaning machines, workers are still being sent inside tanks, resulting in more deaths.