Days after a speeding bus killed four people sleeping in the roadside shanties and injured five others on Saturday, the survivors of the incident – all construction labourers hailing from Bihar – have demanded the arrest of their employer for setting them up in unsafe conditions and ignoring safety norms, people aware of the matter said.
The labourers, who were working on a road project within Goa’s Verna Industrial Estate, were housed in huts made of corrugated metal set up right beside a road when a speeding bus crashed into three huts killing four and injuring five others late on Saturday night (May 25).
The labourers have been living at the site for the past fourteen months and were engaged in constructing a stormwater drain by Kudroli Constructions Pvt Ltd.
“The labourers were residing in temporary huts for the last 14 months along the national highway which is itself illegal and in contravention of the law. We demand the immediate arrest of the owner of Kudroli Constructions Pvt Ltd,” Olencio Simoes, who spoke on behalf of the workers, said.
The bus was transporting employees employed by Rosenberger Interconnect Private Ltd, a company involved in manufacturing and supplying telecommunications equipment. None of the bus occupants sustained injuries.
Simoēs mentioned that the workers were not registered with the labour department, which constitutes a violation of the Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970 & Rules 1971.
In response to the incident, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant pledged punitive measures against the company for breaching safety regulations.
गोवा में सड़क दुर्घटना में बिहार के पूर्वी चम्पारण जिले के 5 लोगों की मृत्यु दुःखद। घायलों के शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना है। शोक संतप्त परिजनों को दुःख की इस घड़ी में धैर्य धारण करने की शक्ति प्रदान करने की ईश्वर से प्रार्थना है।
— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) May 27, 2024
On Tuesday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the death of four labourers. “Deeply saddened over their death, who were from East Champaran district of Bihar and died in a road accident in Goa. Wishing speedy recovery of the injured persons,” Kumar posted on X.