The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Secretary, Ernakulam District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), to inquire into an incident in which a migrant worker was killed and two others were injured when a concrete slab of a building crashed on them at Kaloor.
Justice Devan Ramachandran ordered that the inquiry should be done particularly from the angle of the workers involved and to ensure that they got all support and guidance for their way forward.
The court issued the order when a case pertaining to the cleaning of canal came up for hearing. The incident occurred when the cleaning of Seena Thodu was being undertaken by migrant workers following the High Court directive to the Kochi Corporation.
The court also directed the Ernakulam District Collector and the corporation to make sure that the injured were given the best medical help and facilities.
It asked the the superintendents of hospitals where the injured are admitted to ensure that the best team of doctors and nursing staff were made available for their treatment.
The court said it was more concerned about the health and care of those who had survived the accident and that all support should be offered to the family of the person who died.
It observed that though it did not propose to say anything recriminatory against any of the stakeholders at this time, prima facie, a suspicion of lack of proper supervision would certainly come to the fore.
Counsel for a person who resides near the accident site affirmed that had proper care been taken, the accident could have been easily avoided. In fact, the counsel said such accidents were waiting to happen for the same reason and, therefore, pleaded that necessary directions be issued
Counsel for the Kochi Corporation and the District Collector submitted that necessary enquiries were on, and that a report would be filed before the court.
The court directed the corporation to ensure that the works were now taken forward only with competent and necessary supervision, particularly from the angle of engineering, so as to avoid any such accidents in future.
