Ludhiana: Days after a toddler’s birthday party, a family of seven grieves for its only breadwinners, a man and his son lost in Monday’s industrial waste tank gas tragedy.Maan Singh, 56, and his son Amit, 26, died inside a hand tools manufacturing facility in Ludhiana’s industrial zone. Relatives revealed the pair were hired as day labourers to clear the effluent vat but were never notified of the lethal gas risks or provided protective gear.The tragedy has wiped out the sole financial support for a multi-generational household that includes elderly grandparents, a widow, and a toddler. Renu, 18, Maan Singh’s daughter, said: “Only my father and brother were earning hands in the house. Who will take care of the family now?”The family, originally from Fatehabad in neighbouring Haryana state, has lived in Ludhiana for more than two decades. The men primarily collected construction site debris for resale but occasionally took manual tank-cleaning jobs at local factories to supplement their earnings. Ironically, the family had just celebrated the first birthday of Amit’s daughter two days prior to the incident.Corporate SilenceRenu said her father and brother had left for the Deep Tools factory at 9.30pm on Sunday, promising to return by 3am on Monday. When their phones went unanswered, she walked to the facility but security barred her at the gates.“They told me my father and brother had collapsed and they had taken them to the hospital,” Renu said. “As I reached the hospital, I was told they had died.”The family has condemned the factory management for failing to notify them of the workplace accident, which occurred around 2am. Police have since lodged a criminal case for culpable homicide against the factory ownership, though no arrests have been made.
