Bhubaneswar: A labourer died and two others were critically injured after a wall collapsed on them while they were engaged in the construction of a drain in Odisha’s Cuttack city on Sunday.
According to reports, five labourers, including a minor, were engaged in the reconstruction of a drain near Bidanasi Square in Cuttack when the mishap occurred. The boundary wall of a residential building, located close to the under-construction drain, collapsed and fell on the labourers.
Three labourers were trapped under the debris and one of them died on the spot. The locals rescued the other workers and rushed them to a nearby hospital in a critical condition.
The locals have claimed that they had cautioned the private contractor executing the drainage project about the dilapidated condition of the wall and asked him to take the necessary steps to avoid any mishap. However, the contractor did not ensure proper safety measures for the labourers engaged in the project.
The locals staged a demonstration demanding adequate compensation for the deceased’s family and action against the contractor for engaging a minor.