The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) on Tuesday categorically denied the accusation that its negligence led to the incident in Toli Chowki, where a 78-year-old person fell into a trench dug up for piping works.
The elderly person breathed his last while undergoing treatment at a hospital on Monday.
According to water board officials, “The trench was barricaded, and workers were on duty, at the time of the incident. It was found that the man who was going in his scooter, stopped by and approached the barricades to look at the trench works. He lost control and fell over.”
The trench and the piping works pertain to Zone-3 sewerage network project works for modernisation of the sewerage system in the core city, north of the Musi river at Mir Alam and Toli Chowki. The foundation was laid in April 2022.
The works are also part of the 129-km pipeline network covering the constituencies of Jubilee Hills, Goshamahal, Nampally and Karwan at an outlay of ₹297 crore.
According to the victim’s family, the complaint to the police also stated that the “barricades were not fastened”.
A senior project manager in the water board, however, said the whole works were under the contract of Ayyappa Infra Projects Private Limited.
“One can see the barricades are present and fastened. There is no negligence on part of the HMWSSB,” he said.
But according to the video of the victim’s rescue by the workers on Sunday, the barricades that were installed appeared to be metal, and movable, and they do not block the passage of persons or ensure safety.
However, post-incident, a fresh installation of barricades - reinforced metal sheets – line the same site now. These are fixed structures, more than waist high, object passage of persons.
Meanwhile, the Hyderabad police, based on complaint by the victim’s family have also booked a HMWS&SB supervising officer along with the contractor and its supervisor under IPC 304 Part II – culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
