Congress demands Rs 1 crore for kin of manual scavengers washed away in Hyderabad manhole mishap

HYDERABAD:  While expressing anguish over ‘official apathy’ in reaching out to the families of two men who were washed away while cleaning a manhole in LB Nagar, the Congress party on Saturday demanded the government to allot a 2BHK house to the kin besides providing financial assistance.

TPCC president A Revanth Reddy, who visited residences of Shiva and Ananthaiah in Saidabad to console the bereaved families, questioned as to why no official has approached them after days of the accident occurred. 

He telephoned the GHMC as well as Revenue Department officials and demanded immediate initiation of a process to provide relief and rehabilitation of the families.

Asking the officials to follow due procedure in providing financial assistance, he alleged that the GHMC was equally responsible for allowing contractors for compelling men for ‘manual scavenging’ in the dark of the night, which amounts to criminal offence and mandates prosecution.  

Later, while speaking to the media, he held MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao, MAUD Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar and Municipal Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar responsible for the incident.

“As per the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, immediate relief of Rs 2 lakh should be paid but it was not done. The officials responsible for this incident should be brought to book and each of the family should be paid Rs 1 crore as compensation,” he said.