However, the Board suspended the Deputy General Manager (Engineering), and decided to blacklist the contractor

Days after Minister for Municipal Administration, KT Rama Rao spoke on the need for improved coordination between various State Government departments, the death of the hotel worker in Madhapur exactly reflected the implications of not having such a system in place.

On Saturday night, a hotel worker Butta Yadav fell into a water trench on the main road near Ayyappa Society Road, thanks to the shoddy civic works which were undertaken at the spot some days ago. Some passers-by who tried to pull the victim out received electric shock due to which the victim could not be saved.

The Hyderabad Water Board, which was initially held responsible for the incident, on Monday denied that it was caused due to their negligence and instead blamed the GHMC.

The Board said that the laying of new sewerage line under the JNNURM scheme at the exact location was entrusted to a private contractor who finished the work almost a fortnight back. It was then handed over to GHMC and hence, the maintenance of the manhole and the area around the water trench was also the responsibility of the municipal body.

However, the Board suspended the Deputy General Manager (Engineering), and decided to blacklist the contractor.

Pointing fingers at the contractors employed by the Board for the incident, the GHMC has decided to send circulars to all its engineers to make sure that such an incident doesn’t repeat. At a meeting held on Monday, the lower level officials and the senior engineering staff were asked to check for any open manholes or monitor ongoing works and ensure that barricades or caution boards are put up.

Even as it is unclear if the victim was electrocuted leading to his death due to the presence of an electric cable, locals say that the Electricity Department officials should also be held responsible for this particular incident.

The Madhapur Police said that they are yet to find the exact cause of death and verifying if the deceased was under the influence of alcohol.