The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Rs. 7.39-lakh compensation awarded

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Friday, Dec 05, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Rs. 7.39-lakh compensation awarded

M.T. Shiva Kumar

SHRC gesture will help girl who was blinded in chemical factory

SHRC has ordered the Labour Department to release Rs. 5 lakh as special compensation
Factory to pay Rs. 2.39 lakh with interest

BANGALORE: Sixteen-year-old H. Ambika is inconsolable. She lost her sight earlier this year while working in a chemical factory owned by Kannada film producer E. Krishnappa of “Mungaru Male” fame.

Ambika went to work to support her family. One day at work, her eyes were exposed to toxic fumes and she became blind. Her family spent all it could to treat her, but they ran out of money. Fortunately, the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission has come to her aid and directed the concerned authorities to release Rs. 7.39 lakh as compensation before January 3, 2009.

No safety measures

Ambika is the daughter of Huliyappa, a subsistence farmer in Maddihalli village of Hiriyur taluk in Chitradurga district. She joined M/s. E.K. Plant Technologies Private Limited on Tumkur Road, as a helper. An official in the Nelamangala police station told The Hindu that the factory is owned by Mr. Krishnappa. The factory makes colour and chemical-related substances. “On the day of the accident, Ambika came home with swollen eyes. Fluid was oozing from her eyes,” her relative, Kari Gowda, told The Hindu on Thursday.

“We admitted her in NIMHANS. Later, we shifted her to Prabha Eye Hospital in the city. Proper safety measures are not followed in the factory,” Mr. Gowda said.

Showing several reports from hospitals and various government departments, he alleged that the factory had not bothered to help the girl. “That is why we approached the SHRC,” he said.

Order passed

The SHRC registered a case on May 23, 2008, and on December 3, 2008, its member B. Parthasarathy passed an order. “We had directed the Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the District Blind Control Institution and the Directorate of Factories and Boilers to inquire and submit their reports. Dr. K.R. Murthy of Prabha Eye Hospital said the girl became blind owing to toxic vapours,” Mr. Parthasarathy told The Hindu.

After thorough investigation and verification of the documents, violation of human rights at the factory premises had been proved, Mr. Parthasarathy said.

In its order, the SHRC has ordered the Labour Department to release Rs. 5 lakh as special compensation to Ambika. The commission also directed that the licence of the factory be cancelled if it refused to pay Ambika Rs. 2.39 lakh with interest, he said.

Apathy of factory

The Directorate of Factories and Boilers had instructed the factory authorities to pay compensation to Ambika within 60 days under The Workman’s Compensation Act 1948. Though that order was passed on August 28, 2008, the factory authorities are yet to pay. “The directorate observed the lack of proper safety measures. The factory management had also not paid compensation to the girl. A case has been filed against the negligence of the factory authorities in a court in Nelamangala,” said sources in the Directorate of Factories and Boilers.

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