Thanks to the rain and the Capital’s notorious traffic, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) chairperson Rajendra Pal Gautam couldn’t make it to the houses of the workers who died while cleaning a sewer in south Delhi on Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon, three labourers — Joginder, Annu and Manoj — were asphyxiated when they entered a manhole in Lajpat Nagar.
Workers not hired: DJB
Mr. Gautam said that while an inquiry had been initiated, DJB engineers insisted that they had not hired the labourers, who did not have permission to work at the site.
On Monday afternoon, Mr. Gautam and Mr. Sisodia, accompanied by DJB and district officials, had intended to meet the families of the victims in Kalyanpuri and Khichripur in east Delhi.
‘Forced to turn back’
“We spent three hours on the road because of the traffic, much of it was because of Raksha Bandhan and the rain. We were forced to turn back without meeting the victims’ relatives,” said Mr. Gautam.
Visit rescheduled
He added that the visit had been rescheduled for Tuesday morning.