Indore, March 2 Two sanitation workers died from asphyxiation after inhaling toxic gas while cleaning a sewer here on Monday, with an eyewitness alleging that the two entered the chamber without any safety equipment, while ambulances reached the spot two hours after the incident.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav directed that the affected families be given assistance of Rs 30 lakh each.
The incident took place in front of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar fruit and vegetable market near Choithram Hospital gate, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Sumit Kerkatta said.
He said a part of the pipe from a sewer suction machine broke and fell into the chamber during the cleaning operation.
"One of the workers, who went down to remove the pipe, fell unconscious after being exposed to toxic gas. Another municipal worker, who went down to rescue him, also fell unconscious," Kerkatta said.
Both were later declared dead due to asphyxiation caused by toxic gas present in the sewer. Their bodies were taken out with the help of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), he added.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Shrikrishna Lalchandani identified the workers as Karan Yadav and Ajay Dodi.
The eyewitness claimed the workers entered the chamber without safety equipment. He also alleged that police, municipal workers, and ambulances did not reach the spot even after two hours of the incident.
Passersby tried to rescue the two sanitation workers by pulling them out of the chamber, he added.
An official said the chief minister ordered the release of Rs 30 lakh each in line with the Supreme Court’s 2023 direction on compensation in sewer-related deaths, while expressing grief over the incident.
The Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), in a late-night press release, said both the sanitation workers died while releasing water from a municipal vehicle into a drainage line chamber after emptying a septic tank.
