T.N. man dies of asphyxiation while cleaning drain in Vellore

M Murugan, a 54-year-old sanitation worker in Vellore, lost his life on Friday after slipping into an open sewage drain while desilting it close to Makkan Signal. According to his coworkers, Murugan has been employed by the Vellore Corporation for 15 years as a contract worker. "He was desilting the drain around 3:30 pm when he accidentally fell in," they explained. He was sent to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Adukkamparai in a hurry, but they pronounced him dead. Employees pointed out that Murugan was not wearing any protective gear at the time of the event, underscoring a broader problem with insufficient safety precautions for contract workers. "We never receive safety gear," they grumbled the day before at a protest. In a council meeting, Corporation Commissioner P Janaki Raveendran acknowledged that only permanent workers should handle such tasks, raising questions about the assignment of work to contract laborers. Vellore North police registered a case, with an officer noting, "It is yet to be established that the worker died of asphyxiation." Vellore SP N Mathivanan confirmed that the cause of death would be determined after the post-mortem examination. Corporation officials were unavailable for comment.