It may not be an overstatement to say that assistant engineer Venkataraman and conservancy worker D. Sankar were killed by a failed system and the pressure it exerted rather than asphyxiation.

Also, their death has exposed Chennai Metro Water’s doublespeak. Infuriated metro engineers gathered at Kilpauk hospital mortuary this afternoon, did not mind revealing that Tuesday’s incident was a result of manual scavenging undertaken after dark (Sekar entered the manhole around midnight) in defiance of the Madras HC order and management’s apathy towards field workers.

“Yes. Workers enter the manholes regularly around midnight to avoid media glare. But, go ask the chief engineer and MD why we enter late night?” fumed a colleague of the deceased engineer.

“Do you think we enjoy working after 11 pm? It will help avoid traffic snarl, but the truth is we cannot avoid workers entering the manhole because jetroding and desilt machines are not effective.

So workers enter manholes late night to avoid public attention or rather contempt of court,” conceded another area engineer.

“But, who is responsible for machinery not being effective and that resulting in illegal manual scavenging?

Not us. It is the management, the board,” engineers remarked adding that a worker ought to enter the manhole to fix the hose of the jetrodding machine into the sewer line.

Even last night, Sekar and two others entered the manhole around midnight. On sensing emission of toxic gases during the course of the work, the other two rushed out crying for help, the engineers asserted.

Hearing Sekar’s groan, Venkataraman removed his trouser and shirt and jumped into the manhole, the engineers said.

He jumped not only to save the dying worker but also avoid the unbearable pressure he would be put through for the death of a worker involved in manual scavenging, the engineers added.

Sankar and his co-workers had entered four manholes in the area before entering the ill-fated fifth manhole at Mariyanayagam Street in Perambur.

Last assignment turns fatal for metro official

Only 36 hours stood between life and death for engineer Venkataraman. The assistant engineer who allegedly died while overseeing manual scavenging was in fact transferred from his division 68 already.

Engineering sources in CMWSSB revealed that he was issued necessary orders as early as Saturday.

He was supposed to join duty in the new division on Thursday, his colleagues said. The sewer block he attended to at Marinayagam Street in Perambur was the last assignment he took up in division 68 even after collecting the order for transfer that he had applied for.

While a few engineers said that the workaholic engineer would have wanted to redress public grievance before leaving the division, several other engineers gathered at the Kilpauk mortuary on Wednesday afternoon said that he did it under compulsion.

Much worse was the plight of the family of deceased conservancy worker Sankar. His relatives complained that they were informed of his death only around 10 am while the incident actually took place around 12.30 am on Wednesday.

Defunct machine caused death, say engineers

It was a disaster waiting to happen. Assistant engineer Venkataraman and conservancy worker Sekar, who died allegedly due to manual scavenging, would have been relaxing back home had the ‘jetrodding’ machines and ‘desiltman” Chennai Metro Water purchased were adequate and effective. Unfortunately, the machines were not.

Senior metro engineers preferring anonymity told DC that they had only one jetrodding machine for two divisions.

Also, most of them were either defunct or under repair except the 28 new machines bought from a private firm at a cost of `5.6 crore a little over a year ago.

Ironically, the private firm was blacklisted three months ago, leaving Chennai Metro Water, particularly field engineers, in a limbo as the maintenance of the machines remains unattended.

Worse, only one ‘qualified’ dealer is available at Saidapet in the city to maintain the jetrodding machines, which were introduced over a decade back.

Introduced after CMWSSB gave an undertaking to Madras high court that it would not undertake manual scavenging, the ‘desiltman’, another machine, proved ineffective as it only removes the silt accumulated at the floor directly beneath the mouth of the manhole, forcing workers to enter and clear the silt further in the line.

Also, most jetrodding machines are under repair, engineers said adding that even an area engineer has powers to only use till Rs 5,000, which does not account for even half the sum required for the periodic maintenance and repair of the machines.
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