“Prasanth along with his friends went to work around 4 a.m. on Saturday and completed it by 1 p.m. But, the contractor offered him extra half-day wage and asked him to continue the job till evening. His decision to stay back killed him,” said the boy’s aunt Muchu Mariya Ratnam. Ratnam, who was inconsolable, said that the extra amount of Rs. 200 became the cause of the death of seven persons including her son. “The victims agreed to work over time (OT) and the decision proved costly. Had they not agreed for the additional amount, they would have survived.” According to the villagers, many families were dependent on construction, welding and centering works. Normally they start their work at 8 a.m. and call off at 5 p.m. But, owing to the unbearable heat wave conditions, the labourers were working from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. They are avoiding the afternoons to protect themselves from sunstroke.
“All the 18 persons, who went for rod bending work at Lakshmipuram, began work by 5 a.m. and called it a day at 1 p.m. But the contractor’s offer tempted them,” said a local youth, Yesu. The incident occurred a few minutes before the workers were about to stop work, he added. “Prasanth, who completed SSC, was financially helping his mother Marathamma, who is an agriculture labourer. The extra money took my child away from me. He will never come back,” Mariya Ratnam rued.
Last rites performed
The last rites of the labourers, who were killed at a construction site at Lakshmipuram in Guntur, were conducted at Gottipadu village in Prathipadu mandal on Monday.
