Ahmedabad: Shahibaug police on Tuesday registered a complaint against two chief supervisors of Smart Maintenance Company after a sanitation worker died while attempting a hazardous drain-cleaning operation at UN Mehta Hospital in Asarwa.The complaint was filed under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act by Pravin Vaghela, 32, a contract cleaner hired through Smart Maintenance Company. Vaghela stated he has been working at the hospital for about a year, and is currently assigned to cleaning duties in the basement parking.According to the complaint, the incident occurred on Monday between 7pm and 7.30pm, near a biomedical area in the hospital’s Basement 1, where a drain was to be cleaned. Vaghela alleged that “chief supervisors Raj Bharatkumar Barot and Pinakin Dhanjibhai Parmar instructed me and other co-workers to enter and clean the drain”.The complaint stated that “co-worker Sahil Nadiya first attempted to go down but experienced severe breathlessness and came back out. When Nadiya tried again, he again struggled to breathe and exited.”According to the complaint, Roki Mekwan entered the drain and lost consciousness. Nadiya allegedly jumped in to rescue him and also collapsed. Vaghela said he then entered in an attempt to save both men but was also overcome and had to be pulled out by others gathered at the spot.Vaghela was hospitalised and later learnt that fire brigade personnel had rescued Mekwan and Nadiya from the drain. Mekwan died during treatment, while Nadiya remains unconscious and under medical care. The complaint alleges the supervisors assigned dangerous work without proper safety measures despite knowing the risk to life.
