The collapse of the roof of the pre-Independence-era structure at the Porayar depot of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (Kumbakonam) Ltd. on Friday morning was waiting to happen, employees lamented.
The maintenance of the building that was declared open on December 3, 1943, by the then District Collector of Thanjavur J.W. Pritchard, ICS, and then taken over by the Cholan Transport Corporation from Sri Sakthi Vilas Bus Service (SVBS) in 1974, has been pathetic. The management never bothered to attend to the plethora of representations made by employees, Gopi, a driver affiliated to AITUC, said.
“The TNSTC just undertook patchwork at the time of inspection by officials of Industrial Safety and Health and Public Works Department. The inspecting officials must be made responsible for the tragedy and must be punished for having certified the dilapidated structure as stable,” AITUC transport union general secretary Mathivanan said.
Charging that the inspections were a farce, district unit secretary of CITU Seenumani observed that the long-pending demand of transport employees to ensure the safety of the buildings housing the canteen, toilets, and resting rooms were still being ignored. “The bathrooms and toilets in almost all the depots were without doors or water supply,” Mr. Seenumani alleged.
The condition of buildings at the TNSTC depots in Nannilam, Thirutharaipoondi, Mannargudi and Nagapattinam were also bad, he said.
The Porayar branch was inspected last on June 2, 2015, for stability certification of three-year validity by officials of the Industrial Safety and Health.
The certificate states that the depot building has been constructed/extended in accordance with the plans approved by the Chief Inspector of Factories, Chennai, and that its stability will not be endangered by its use.
TNSTC employees who had assembled at the depot staged a protest demanding action against higher officials for allegedly ignoring their complaints regarding the safety of the building.
