Worker, 28, dies while cleaning trommel machine at Wathoda waste plant in Nagpur

A 28-year-old worker died in an accident at a waste-segregation plant run by SUSBDE on Bidgaon Road in Wathoda, Nagpur, on Tuesday morning. The incident has raised serious questions about worker safety arrangements and prescribed precautions at the plant.

The deceased has been identified as Salman Ayub Khan, who lived in Antuji Nagar in Bhandewadi. The accident happened at around 7.30 am while he was cleaning a trommel machine. He had climbed on top of the machine with fellow worker Akshay Belkar to remove waste that had accumulated in it. He is reported to have slipped and got caught in the machine, suffering serious injuries.

People from the company took the injured Khan, along with his family members, to Bhavani Hospital in Pardi, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. As the incident occurred within the limits of Wathoda police station, the body was brought back to the area and then sent to the Government Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.

Anger and tension prevailed at the plant after the accident. The deceased's relatives and others present at the spot questioned the circumstances in which the fatal accident occurred. Company officials spoke to the family and the people gathered there. They are reported to have assured fair compensation.

The incident has drawn attention to the safety standards followed at the plant. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has assigned the work of segregating the city's waste to SUSBDE. It is therefore the responsibility of both the corporation and the contractor to ensure that workers' lives are not put at risk while operating or cleaning heavy machinery.

Several questions have now been raised. Was the trommel machine properly shut down and isolated before cleaning? Were workers given complete safety equipment? Were they trained to do such work safely?

Wathoda police have begun the process of registering a case of accidental death on the complaint of the deceased's father, Ayub Khan. The body has been sent for post-mortem. Police are investigating the circumstances of the accident and are also examining whether the prescribed safety procedure was followed at the plant.