The Hindu       28.11.2014 

Corporation to bear medical expense of injured worker

Coimbatore Corporation has taken steps to ensure that the medical expenses of worker N. Saravanan, who suffered injuries on Sunday while cleaning underground drainage in Gandhipuram, are taken care off.

Sources in the civic body said that while using the jetting-cum-suction machine, the hosepipe burst causing injuries on his jaw. He was rushed to a private hospital in the area and his condition was said to be stable.

The sources said that the big particles that moved in at great speed blocked the passage of other waste leading to creation of pressure inside the hose, which burst open. This was not a one-off kind of incident as often the workers who cleaned the underground drainage encountered such bursts.

They explained that the workers first flushed air in high pressure into the UGD pipelines to clear blockages and then suck out the waste. Big particles get into the hose pipe and get stuck as their size prevented them from getting inside the tank.

The Corporation used two such lorries for the West and Central zones and had planned to deploy two more.

After the Sunday’s incident, Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan inspected the lorries.