Labour norm violations led to 3 deaths in Vasant Vihar: Officials

The bodies of three workers trapped in an under-construction basement, which was inundated due to heavy rain in Vasant Vihar on Friday, were recovered after a 28-hour-long operation involving fire personnel, Delhi Police, and National Disaster Response Force and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The tragedy highlights the criminally negligent and treacherous working conditions of the victims and points to myriad lapses within labour norms.

DCP (southwest) Rohit Meena identified the deceased workers as Santosh Yadav, 19, his namesake Santosh Yadav, 20, both from Bihar, and Daya Ram, 45, a resident of Noida.

According to police, the two-storey basement of a building at Vasant Vihar B block was being constructed over a 500 square yard plot for the last few weeks. The owner and contractor of the site obtained permission from the agencies concerned to carry out the project. The labourers working at the site were given makeshift shanties on the edge of the construction site — some of which caved in after the land collapsed along with two trees amid heavy rain.

Delhi labour department officials on Saturday said that construction workers should not be allowed to stay under or just next to an under-construction site, considering the magnitude of risk to their life and safety. At the Vasant Vihar site, the workers lived at the site illegally, officials said.

“According to the information we have, the workers were kept on the edge of the under-construction basement, which is against the rules. The workers’ safety rules state that the contractor should provide accommodation to them in separate enclosures at a safe distance from where the construction work is going on. Onsite accommodations are provided at large construction sites where there is enough space for separate enclosures,” said a labour department official requesting anonymity, adding that an inquiry will be conducted into the matter.

The official added that the department will also provide compensation to the kin of the three workers if they apply for it through the welfare board.

Don’t have money to pay ambulance: Kin

The 19-year-old Santosh is survived by his parents and three siblings – an eight-year-old brother, and two sisters aged 10 and 12. Santosh came to Delhi four years ago and started working as a labourer, his uncle Ajay Yadav said.

Santosh’s parents Kallu Yadav and Pinky Devi are also labourers. “Labourers earn less in other parts of India than in Delhi. Santosh used to send money to his parents for his siblings’ education and the family’s ration,” Ajay said.

Santosh’s father, Kallu, said he was waiting for his son’s body to return to Bihar but was worried about the ambulance expense. “We don’t even have enough money to pay the ambulance. We will have to ask our relatives,” he said.

The 20-year-old Santosh was the sole breadwinner of his family. He is survived by his 70-year-old father, Siya Lal Yadav, his mother, and three sisters – one younger to Santosh and two elder to him. “We can’t work anymore. He used to work in Delhi and sent us money to survive,” Lal said over the phone.

Deepak Yadav, 25, a colleague of the deceased, said he had asked them to stay in his room that night but they refused. “I cannot stop thinking about our last conversation. I told them that should come to the room in Vasant village as the weather was bad but they said they would sleep in the basement only,” he said.

Violations galore

A senior police officer said police are investigating the lack of safety precautions, which could have averted the incident. “There is a clear lapse by the builder and those who employed these victims. We are ascertaining the laws and guidelines to be followed and action will be taken depending on how and who flouted them,” the officer said.

Police added that the owner of the plot, a businessman, had given the building construction work to a contractor who has been identified, but is yet to be arrested.

In July 2023, the Delhi government issued a 14-point guideline for safety at construction sites, which among other measures, directed that the agency engaged in construction should put up proper barricading and signages at construction sites and that the contractors should also take steps to prevent waterlogging.

The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, has provisions for the safety of the construction workers but the provisions are mostly violated, especially at small construction sites, officials said.

“The law provides for the safety of workers, their welfare, accommodation, formation of safety committee for big construction sites, but most, especially the small sites, often violate the rules. The government should monitor the sites and take necessary steps for the safety of the construction workers regularly,” said Thaneshwar Adigaur, member of the Delhi Labour Welfare Board and secretary of the Delhi Asangathit Nirman Mazdoor Union.

A gruelling operation

Delhi Fire Services director Atul Garg said that the bodies were recovered at 10.45am. “The clogged water was cleared and the bodies were moved to Safdarjung Hospital for postmortem,” Garg said, adding that the basement, which was dug up for nearly 20 feet, was filled with 10 feet with water, slush, collapsed parts of temporary structures, and the trees.

Inspector general of NDRF, Narendra Bundela, said that a team of 30 people worked to recover the trapped labourers. “The first body was pulled out at 5.40am, the second was pulled out at 8am and the third at 9.15am,” the officer said, adding that four deep divers worked in shifts and the rescuers used two water pumps of the DFS and two submersible pumps of the municipal corporation.