Two employees of a restaurant in Delhi died on Saturday while cleaning its sewage treatment unit, PTI reported quoting the police. Rakesh Singh Yadav and Ajay Kanojia were employed in the housekeeping department of Pirates of Grill restaurant in Rajouri Garden in west Delhi.
The two men died after inhaling toxic fumes from the kitchen waste plant which they were sent to clean without any safety gear, reports said.
“A case has been registered against restaurant management at Rajouri Garden police station,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Monika Bhardwaj said.
Bharadwaj told The Indian Express that since the incident happened at a kitchen waste treatment plant, the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act has not been invoked.
Two of their colleagues who were also asked to clean the plant were hospitalised and are undergoing treatment, PTI reported.
The Delhi Jal Board said described the incident as tragic. However, the board has nothing to do with the incident, it said. “Neither the said plant being cleaned is of DJB nor the workers belonged to DJB,” the board said in a statement. “They were hired privately by the owner.”
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