Chennai: Hotel workers' bodies lay unattended

Chennai: The bodies of three migrant workers, who died from asphyxiation around Saturday noon while trying to clean a sump at Perambur branch of Sangeetha hotel, lay unattended till 12 pm on Saturday, in Kilpauk Medical College Hospital mortuary.

The shocked family members and relatives along with friends and co-workers of victims from other branches of Sangeetha, huddled helplessly near the mortuary.

With no help from the hotel management or the government, the bereaved families of victims were seen to be clueless about transporting the dead bodies of their loved ones to a village which is 1,100 km away from Chennai, in Andhra Pradesh.

Luckily, a timely social media message sent by an activist narrating the pathetic state of affairs in the hospital went viral and the media sprang into action. Health Secretary J. Radhakrishanan promised swift action in completing the formalities at the hospital.

Pressure mounted and Suresh, the owner of the hotel, was forced to reach the hospital. Soon, hundreds of friends and co-workers who belong to the same village of the victims demanded compensation and financial assistance from Suresh to take the dead bodies back home. Under pressure, he promised to pay Rs 15 lakh each to the victim’s family.

Later, the hotel management arranged three ambulances to carry dead bodies after the post mortem was over. In damage control mode, the hotel management also arranged another cab for his friends and co-workers to attend the funeral.

“If Rs 15 lakhs will not be paid tomorrow at 10 am as promised by the owner, we will go on a protest in front of the hotel,” said a friend and co-worker of the victims.

One after the other, the victims were forced to enter the sump by manager Gopi. If he had informed the authorities on time, two lives could have been saved, he added.

“We cannot disobey his orders, when we work under him,” said Kanagaraj, who went into the sump but dropped his attempt as he felt dizzy. Meanwhile, activists expressed their anger against police for not invoking the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013, against the proprietor and manager Gopi.

“We are not allowed by the police to inspect the sump where the accident took place,” said Samuel Velanganni, State Convener, Safai Karmachari Andolan.