Day after four died at Gurgaon condo, kin rue: ‘Safety gear could have saved their lives’

Nabin Tiwari, a native of Sonauli, Chhapra district in Bihar, came to Gurgaon five years ago after completing an ITI course and had been working as a welder, earning Rs 24,000 a month, said relatives. At the mortuary on Wednesday, they said he was planning to get married. “His younger sister got married two months ago. He would send money home. A fortnight ago, he visited our village to attend a function and we were looking for a match for him. He would often complain about the risks involved in his job,” said his uncle.

Pramod Kumar, Kumod’s elder brother, who also works in construction, said that Kumod worked as a crane operator and fitter. “We are all aware of the risks involved in the job, but contractors and builders need to ensure safety of the staff. Their negligence caused this incident. Whenever my brother complained about safety, he was told ‘kaam karna hai toh karo, nahi toh chale jao’ (quit if you don’t want to work),” said Pramod. Kumod got married in November 2020 and used to send money each month for their sister’s nursing course.

Mohammad Tahmid, who is from Araria district in Bihar, worked in scaffolding and is survived by his wife and three children aged 2, 4 and 6. “He would earn about Rs 700 a day. Who will provide for his family now? He wanted to leave this line of work. If there was a harness and a safety net, he could have been saved. We want justice,” said his brother, Mohammad Sanowar Alam.

One of the workers, Gufran Ahmed, alleged that the incident took place due to the alleged haste in dismantling the tower crane. “All safety precautions were ignored. When workers were on the platform, as a net was removed, the girder broke and one end of scaffolding gave way, due to inadequate safety measures,” he alleged.

Newsletter | Click to get the day’s best explainers in your inbox

Police said an FIR was registered against the project manager, tower in-charge, mechanic foreman, safety engineer, site engineer and the main contractor. The FIR was registered on the complaint of an injured worker who alleged that “he and his colleagues complained about ensuring adequate safety measures at the site several times, but no action was taken”. The FIR stated the contractor and developer put pressure on them to do job or quit, and the incident took place due to negligence.

Meanwhile, Gurgaon deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav formed a four-member committee to probe the mishap and submit a report. He said that compensation would be given to the families of the deceased and injured as per the laws in two days.