GHAZIABAD: An inquiry into the death of three persons inside the tank of a sewage treatment plant’s pumping station in Ghaziabad has found the UP Jal Nigam “equally responsible” for lack of maintenance along with the private agency given the contract for carrying out regular repairs.Three persons, Roshan Lal (45), Mahesh (28) and Bulbul, a Bareilly resident whose identity was established on Monday, had died of suspected suffocation after they had descended the tank to clean it on Sunday. On the basis of a complaint lodged by the Jal Nigam — the agency that owns the STP — an FIR had been registered against the private agency under IPC Section 304A (causing death due to negligence). On Monday, provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 were invoked in the FIR. A police officer said Sections 7 and 9 of the Act could result in two years’ imprisonment for the accused along with a penalty of Rs 2 lakh, or either.Additional district magistrate Sunil Kumar Singh, who has been asked to carry out an inquiry into the deaths, said his investigation so far pointed to negligence on the part of Jal Nigam.“Jal Nigam officials in charge of the pumping station are equally responsible for the accident. They never visited the site, nor were there any safety reports. They never kept a watch on how the private contractor was maintaining the site. At least six officials in charge of the pumping station and the sewage treatment plant are responsible for the deaths,” Singh said.The six Jal Nigam officials identified by the ADM are from the level of junior engineer to executive engineer. Jal Nigam officials said they were working towards providing Rs 10 lakh each as compensation to the kin of the deceased.“We have recommended for the suspension of two junior engineers in charge of the pumping station to our headquarters in Lucknow. We have also recommended for blacklisting the private firm maintaining the station. An internal inquiry has also been sought into the functioning of the firm and the role of our engineers,” Jal Nigam chief engineer GP Shukla said.On Monday, angry relatives of the deceased workers blocked traffic on the Delhi-Saharanpur highway at Loni T-point, demanding compensation for themselves and strict punishment for the accused. The protests were called off after Loni MLA Nand Kishor Gujjar assured them of action.“We have assured them that strict action will be taken against the accused. We will ask chief minister Yogi Adityanath and the local administration to provide whatever financial help is due,” Gujjar said.

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