Tragedy struck work on executing a power project near Udhagamandalam on Saturday. Enquiries made by The Hindu revealed that when three workers were in engaged in strengthening the entrance of a tunnel being constructed for the Kundah Ultimate Stage Hydro Electric Project, about 30 kilometres from here, earth from above had suddenly caved-in shortly before noon.
People working nearby and others in the vicinity had tried to rescue them. However the unlucky workers had been buried under a great deal of loose mud. They were identified as Marimuthu (45), Anand (25) and Arun Kumar (22) of Srivilliputhur. Their bodies were brought to the mortuary at the Government Headquarters Hospital in Udhagamandalam. The Nilgiris Collector P. Sankar visited the hospital and the accident site.
Sources in the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (Tangedco) said that the area had experienced heavy rains over the past few days. This had made the soil very soft. Stating that the deceased were working for the contractor, they said that under the Workmen Compensation Insurance scheme help would be extended to their families.
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Work on implementing the Kundah Ultimate Stage Hydro Electric Project, also referred to as Kundah 7, had commenced on March 3,,2014. Estimated to cost about Rs. 1800 crores, the 500 MW capacity project is expected to be completed in about six years.