Cave-in kills worker during drainage work in Ahmedabad's New Maninagar

A worker lost his life after being buried under soil when a trench collapsed during drainage line excavation work on a road in New Maninagar in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, triggering serious questions over safety lapses at the worksite.

According to preliminary information, the incident occurred while workers were carrying out drainage line excavation, when a sudden cave-in caused a large quantity of soil to collapse into the trench. Pankaj Katar, a worker at the site, was trapped under the debris and suffered fatal injuries. He was later declared dead, officials said.

Fellow workers alleged that the work was being carried out without any safety equipment, exposing workers to grave risk. “There were no safety belts, helmets, shoes or protective jackets provided to us,” a worker said, alleging gross negligence on the part of those responsible for the project.

It was further alleged that no supervisor or authorised contractor representative was present at the site at the time of the incident, despite the hazardous nature of the excavation work. Labourers claimed that the absence of responsible officials contributed to unsafe working conditions.

Police reached the spot soon after being alerted and initiated an inquiry into the incident. The body was sent for post-mortem examination, while statements of co-workers are being recorded.

Civic authorities are also expected to conduct a separate probe to ascertain whether mandatory safety norms were violated and to fix accountability on the contractor and officials concerned. The incident has once again highlighted concerns over labour safety at urban infrastructure worksites across the city.