4 Sanitation Workers Die Cleaning Ujjain Hotel Waste Chamber After Gas Exposure

4 sanitation workers died after being exposed to poisonous gas while cleaning an overground food-waste chamber at Hotel Shriganga on Dewas Road in Ujjain on Saturday night. 3 others who became unwell were admitted to hospital. The rescue operation lasted about an hour and a half, but CPR failed to save the 4 workers brought out of the chamber.

The dead were identified as Kamlesh, son of Sohanlal Tamboli, from Ujjain; Nitin, son of Tarachand, a resident of Valmiki Nagar Machhli Market, Ujjain; Wahid, a resident of Somwariya; and Manoj, son of Tejmal Meena, a resident of Jhalawar, Rajasthan.

The 4 had entered the chamber at night to clean it and became trapped inside, one after another. Details of the rescue show that a jammed gate hampered efforts to reach them.

Madhav Nagar police reached the hotel after receiving information about the incident. When the chamber’s gate could not be opened, police station in-charge Gajendra Pachoriya arranged for a cutter machine from construction work underway nearby. The machine was then used to cut through the gate so the rescue could proceed.

After about an hour and a half of efforts, all 4 workers were brought out. Police personnel administered CPR for more than two minutes, but they could not be saved. Their bodies have been sent for post-mortem examinations.

A fifth sanitation worker, Hemraj, son of Bhaurao, 25, a resident of Chhindwara, had also entered the chamber after the 4 became trapped. He came back out after feeling anxious and faint.

Two other people who went into the chamber to rescue the trapped workers also became unwell. They were admitted to hospital for treatment. Along with Hemraj, they account for the 3 people hospitalised after their condition deteriorated. A sub-inspector was also injured during the rescue operation.

SP Pradeep Sharma and Collector Roshan Kumar Singh reached the hotel after learning about the incident. They issued instructions to the rescue team at the site as efforts were made to bring the workers out.

A case has been registered against the hotel management over sending employees into the chamber without safety equipment, and an investigation has begun. Police are examining the circumstances in which the workers entered the chamber and whose permission they had to go inside.

SP Sharma said strict action would be taken against anyone found responsible if negligence over safety was established. The investigation is looking into the workers’ entry into the chamber, including the permission under which the cleaning work was undertaken.

The waste chamber carries waste from the production units of sweet shops to the drainage system. This includes water, sugar syrup, ghee, oil and other leftover material generated during production. A blockage in the chamber creates a drainage problem.

Employees of Hotel Shriganga had entered the chamber for this cleaning work. The operation to remove them involved cutting open the jammed gate, followed by efforts by police personnel to revive them after they were brought outside.