Ahmedabad: The contractor responsible for work at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) under-construction sewage treatment plant (STP) in Sola will provide compensation of Rs 30 lakh each to the families of the two workers who died in an accident last month and bear the entire cost of their children's education, IANS reported on Thursday (November 5). The decision was announced by AMC Standing Committee Chairman Kamlesh Patel after the civic body's weekly committee meeting on Thursday, and Nation Press carried the same announcement in its Ahmedabad coverage the same day.

Source: IANS

Patel said the contractor had also agreed to take responsibility for the education of the young children in both families. The AMC has separately issued a notice to the contractor, M/s HNB Engineers Pvt Ltd, seeking payment of a penalty of Rs 50 lakh for negligence — a penalty first reported when the accident occurred in October.

Source: Urban Acres (Gujarat Samachar background)

Rs 30 lakh eachCompensation to each of the two families
Rs 50 lakhPenalty notice issued to the contractor for negligence
30 MLDCapacity of the under-construction Sola STP
Oct 26Date of the accident at the plant

The announcement follows the earlier development reported when the accident happened: on October 26, four men fell into a pump house sump during work at the corporation's 30-million-litres-per-day (MLD) STP in Sola. According to preliminary information, a welder fell into the sump while carrying out work, following which three others entered in an attempt to rescue him. Two workers, identified as Abhishek, 28, and Manoj, 40, died, while the other two were rescued and admitted to Sola Civil Hospital, where they were reported to be in stable condition.

Source: IANS

Fire and emergency services personnel from Thaltej and Bodakdev rushed to the site after receiving an emergency call through the 112 helpline, and firefighters used oxygen breathing apparatus to carry out the rescue operation, which took around 30 to 45 minutes.

Source: IANS

The announcement comes as the police investigation into the October 26 accident continues, with questions remaining over the safety arrangements at the construction site. Patel said the preliminary investigation indicated that the contractor was responsible for the work until its completion, and that the investigation would establish whether adequate safety equipment had been provided to the workers and whether it had been used properly. The exact circumstances leading to the accident and the cause of the deaths remain subject to investigation.

Source: IANS