Mangalore, May 8: The major road accident that claimed eight lives at Doddakere near Jokatte on the outskirts of the city on Sunday has forced Mangalore city police to take note of the manner in which human lives are being compromised.
This is the second accident involving labourers, most of them migrants from Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, to work at Mangalore Special Economic Zone sites, in the past three months. On February 12, three workers were killed and 21 others were injured when a mini bus in which they were travelling from their worksite in Jokatte to their rooms hit an electricity pole and toppled at Shantigudde Cross under Bajpe police station limits. About 70 labourers, police said, working for Punj Llyod, were travelling in the mini bus (KA 19 C 8423) at the time of the mishap.
City police chief Seemant Kumar Singh said that he has directed Mangalore north sub-division ACP M Puttamadaiah and police inspectors of Bajpe, Panambur and Surathkal police stations to convene a meeting of contractors and subcontractors who supply labourers to MSEZ and MRPL forthwith. We will also collect details of labourers and the type of vehicles used to transport them. Surprise checks will be conducted on the routes used by contractors to ferry labourers to the worksites of MSEZ and MRPL. "The absence of a dedicated traffic police station in the area is felt more acutely than ever before after the Sunday's accident.
However, it cannot be an excuse for overlooking blatant violation of traffic and human safety," he said. Contractors on their part cannot seek to cut corners by cramping labourers in pick-up vehicles. "The accident has opened our eyes. We are also thinking of involving the regional transport office in curbing the menace within the scope of powers vested in them," he added.
Four persons booked
Meanwhile, police have also booked four persons for negligence in connection with the accident.
The Panambur police have booked the official of the Toya Company who issued the order for the painting work to 21 workers. The main contractor Mukund Enterprises, sub contractor Narmati Enterprises and the truck driver Saji have been named as the accused.
Victims identified
The police on Monday have identified eight persons who were killed when the multi-utility vehicle in which they were traveling plunged into a gorge near Jokatte.
According to police, the deceased are Chandramohan (40), Kettu Chitra Paniya (36), Chandan Patra (34), all residents of Behra village in Orissa, Chitrasan Giri (56) of Karanjiya in Orissa, M D Irfan (26) of Ranchi in Jharkhand, Nannu Khan alias Salman Khan (35) of Jharkhand, Prakash Chandra Naik and Mutsud Khan of Jharkhand.
As many as 13 persons had sustained injuries and are recuperating in the hospital. The police said that few family members were informed about the tragedy. The bodies have been kept at the mortuary in Wenlock Hospital and Fr Muller Hospital.
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