A day after a worker was killed in an accident at Yermarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS) construction site, about 11 kms from here, Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) has decided to constitute a committee of experts exclusively for ensuring safety of workers employed in the project.
Speaking to media representatives after inspecting the accident spot in the construction site on Wednesday, Technical Director of KPCL P. Bhaskar said that the committee would also look into the recent accidents taken place at the construction site.
He accepted that the cause of Tuesday’s accident that killed a labourer was due to the negligence and over confidence of the engineers and contractor on the spot.
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“Workers attempted to lift, at a time, three heavy iron pipes that together measured 6 tonnes with a hydraulic crane that was equipped with a wire rope of just 2-tonne capacity. Unable to bear the weight, the wire-rope snapped and the pipes fell on a worker, killing him,” some workers later told the presspersons.
Mr. Bhaskar said that the properties worth around Rs. 1.5 crores had been destroyed by the angry labourers. “Following the death of their fellow labourer in the accident, the angry mob of workers ransacked the offices of both KPCL and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and destroyed computers, air conditioners, furniture and other stuff worth around Rs. 1.5 crore,” he said.
When asked whether the civil works contract with Power Mech Projects Limited would be terminated following increased accidents, he said that higher authorities would take the call on the issue.
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Earlier, Superintendent of Police M.N. Nagaraj held a meeting of senior officers including Mr. Bhaskar and discussed precautionary measures to be taken for avoiding law and order problems. Mr. Nagaraj later said that police have sought complete details of workforce employed in the project.
The meeting was attended YTPS senior officials including Chief Operating Officer N. Ramaiah, Chief Engineer (Electrical) Lakshman Kabade, Chief Engineer (Mechanical) G. Narayan Swamy, Chief Engineer (Civil) G.C. Mahendra, Additional Superintendent of Police J. Papaiah and Deputy Superintendent of Police (Raichur) Vijayakumar Madiwalar.