4 killed while cleaning meat plant sewer line in Mohali

MOHALI: Toxic gases killed four workers while they were attempting to unclog a sewer line at a meat plant in Behra village in Derabassi on Friday.
The four had gone to clean a drain of a residue tank. Three of them were working on contract, while the fourth was on the rolls of the company. The deaths sparked a protest, with workers and villagers accusing the company of not providing any equipment like masks, body covers, gloves and even shoes for cleaning sewerage.Derabassi ASP Darpan Ahluwalia said, “We have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 of the IPC against the management of the meat plant.”

The victims are Manak Singh (25), a resident of Behra, Janak Thapa (35), who was from Nepal, and Girdhar Pandey (25), and Kurban (35), both from Nepal.
Sources said to preserve the skin of buffaloes in the plant, they are coated with salt and sprinkled with water. This salt water is stored in a tank, which is drained regularly. Around 4 pm, one of the contractor’s workers went to clean the tank after its drainage had got blocked. He did not return. The others went one by one to rescue him, but they too could not make it out. The bodies were finally taken out.