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Southco staff demonstrate over death of apprentice

BERHAMPUR: With the body of an apprentice who had been killed in an accident while on duty, members of different workers’ and employees’ unions of the power distribution company Southco, demonstrated in front its headquarter in the city on Wednesday.

They demanded proper compensation for the family of the deceased. On Tuesday, 22-year-old ITI student of the city Pradip Sahu had met with an electrical accident while working in the transformer repairing workshop of the company on Tuesday evening. He had joined as an apprentice in the Southco just 15 days ago as part of his ITI course. Pramod Dash, member of the ITI employees’ union said this inexperienced boy should not have been posted to work in that dangerous workshop as he was not aware of the dangers.

On Wednesday morning all workers and employees unions of the company took out a rally from the MKCG medical college campus with the body of Pradip after his postmortem. Many ITI classmates of the deceased also took part in the rally. They reached the Southco headquarter, blocked its gate with the body demanding proper compensation to family of the deceased. The CEO of the Southco had to initiate a dialogue with the representatives of the unions over the matter.

According to Lalit Bisoi, secretary of the coordination committee of the unions of the Southco, the company agreed to pay an immediate ex gratia of Rs 50,000 to parents of the deceased. It also agreed to provide employment to one of his four sisters. The company chief also agreed to put forward proposal for more compensatory payment to the family in its next board meeting. Harihar Sahu, father of the deceased was handed over the cheque of Rs. 50,000 on the spot. It pacified the agitating employees, who removed their blockade of the Southco headquarter and left for the funeral of the youth.

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