Chhindwara: 3 laborers die & 1 injured as stop dam’s retaining wall collapses

On Sunday, 11th June around 3 pm, a retaining wall of the stop dam collapsed over four laborers. This incident took place in the Kukdi Khapa village of Chhindwara district, MP. Among the four that were buried underneath, three died with one reportedly gravely injured. The three laborers that died are identified as Ganesh Gajbhiye, Jitendra Dhurve, and Ramkishore Nagvanshi. Additionally, Shivprasad Bhute, severely injured, was taken to the hospital.

The laborers were rescued in a four-hour-long operation through bulldozers and cranes. The police are currently investigating the incident. The workers were reportedly digging the soil for maintenance at the site. 

Similar incidents

At the beginning of this year, a similar incident of workers dying due to collapsing of the wall came to light. Four laborers including three women died when a groundnut oil mill wall crushed them to death. This incident took place in the Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh on January 21st. A few days before this incident on January 18th, two laborers died and one was left injured when a retaining wall built around a stone-crushing facility came crashing down in the Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh. 

Conclusion

The aforementioned incidents showcase the lack of safety measures and infrastructure causing life-threatening casualties among the labor workforce. According to the data from the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, construction workers constitute one of the largest categories of workers in the unorganized sector. The data also reveals that at least 6500 workers died on duty at factories, ports, mines, and construction sites between 2015 to 2021.

In the current situation of the stop dam incident at Kukdi Kappa, according to a report, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, offered his condolences and an amount of 5 Lakhs to the deceased families. The compensation may help the families sustain themselves for the time being. But what we need right now is better infrastructure and stricter laws to protect the safety of our laborers working in fatal and hazardous environments.

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