: A 22-year-old construction worker from Jharkhand, identified as Devendra, was killed in an accident on Tuesday morning where a Government Interim Complex (temporary Secretariat) is being constructed.
The Andhra Pradesh government is building six towers which would house the interim Secretariat, Assembly and offices of Chief Minister and Ministers until permanent buildings come up in the Core Capital area on the banks of the Krishna. Two leading construction firms — Larsen & Toubro and Shapoorji Pallonji — are executing the work which is expected to be completed by the second week of June.
The incident took place when the worker was cleaning the cement mixer with a crow bar. He was sucked inside and crushed to death. Earlier in March, Samrat Rout (20), a native of West Bengal, was crushed under a rig.
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The incident sparked outrage among the construction workers numbering more than 2,000 who set ablaze an ambulance, ransacked the furniture, and rained stones on police personnel trying to shift the body. Tension mounted at the site as police in riot gear were rushed to the site.
Compensation announced
The workers relented after an oral assurance from Joint Collector Ch. Sridhar and SP K. Narayan that fool-proof safety measures would be put in place. The State government announced a compensation of Rs. 20 lakh to the victim’s family. Leaders of various parties too reached the site and lent support to the demands of workers. CPI (M) leaders led by Ch. Babu Rao, Capital branch secretary, and district secretary Pasam Rama Rao led the agitation and demanded a compensation of Rs. 25 lakh to the next of kin of Devendra. Police took the agitating leaders into preventive custody and lodged them in the Amaravati police station.
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The incident took place when the worker was cleaning a
cement mixer