Contract worker’s close shave with death

Jeedimetla: Contract worker Venkatesh of Gajularamaram had a close encounter with death on Monday. The worker fell from an electric pole while working on a sub-station in the local industrial estate here. He sustained serious head injuries and was admitted to a private hospital.

The worker fell from an electric pole while working on a sub-station in local industrial estate and sustained serious head injuries

Venkatesh had been kept under observation for 24-hours. Lack of proper supervision by AE and the contractor overlooking safety were stated to be causes for the mishap. He had been working for the last six years as contractor worker with electrical contractors Srinivas Reddy and Shankar. 

The incident occurred at 8:30 am on Monday when he was attending to replacement of tools in the sub-station and there was power supply from some companies. He suffered a shock and fell down in the presence of Shankar. The contractor informed Srinivas Reddy, who took him to the hospital. 

When the issue was brought to the notice of AE Kishore, he told The Hans India that only stoppage of power supply was his responsibility. “It is for the contractor to ensure that safety measures are taken,” he said. He dismissed the contention of Venkatesh that the mishap occurred when the power supply was allowed. Shankar maintained that the worker had been working only since one year. The contractor allegedly violated regulations like payment of insurance, ESO, PF in case of Venkatesh.