Coimbatore: Corporation commissioner Raja Gopal Sunkara on Tuesday suspended the sanitation supervisor of Ward 78 for forcing him to work in an unsafe environment without any safety gear.
The commissioner also ordered city health officer Dr Satish Kumar to inquire into the incident and submit a report for further action.
“Supervisor Manickam made the sanitation workers work in an unsafe environment near Perur Main Road on March 19. The workers recorded a video of their work and brought it to the notice of the commissioner,” said a corporation official. said an officer.
“The workers were forced to enter a covered water drain without safety gear. They had to clear the blockage from the drain. The drain was clogged with cement slabs and sandbags and construction material was piled on the slab. When a worker was inside the drain the cement slab could have collapsed under the weight of the material,” said the official.
Describing the incident, Subramani, one of the sanitation workers, said that he along with two other workers was forced to clean a storm water drain on Saturday. “I was the one who had to enter the drain. I initially opposed it saying it was unsafe, but Manickam forced me to enter it without any safety equipment,” Subramani said.
Subramani also alleged that when Manickam came to know that he had made a complaint against him, he harassed him to sign a blank paper and withdraw the complaint.