20-year-old worker dies in Veligonda Project tunnel accident

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A 20-year-old worker reportedly died in an accident at Tunnel-2 of Veligonda Project in Yeguva Cherlopalli (Y. Cherlopalli) village, located in Dornala mandal of Markapuram district, on the early hours of Monday.

According to the sources, the deceased has been identified as Montilal Singh, a native of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. The accident occurred when he reportedly hit his head on a hydraulic machine in the tunnel.

Speaking to The Hindu , Veligonda Project Superintending Engineer (SE) Abutalem said, “Montilal was a helper who was working the third shift on Sunday night. He met with an accident nearly 9 km inside the tunnel during the early hours of Monday at around 3 a.m. and was immediately shifted to the government hospital in Dornala.”

“He died while receiving treatment on the same day morning at 7 a.m. This is the third accident since the commencement of the project in 2006. The contractor has been taking utmost care regarding the safety of the workers for the past two decades,” he added.

Responding on the worker’s death, Minister for Water Resources Nimmala Ramanaidu spoke with the project’s Chief Engineer (CE) and representatives of the construction contractor Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) to gather more details.

He expressed shock over the death of the worker and directed the officials and agency representatives to provide all possible assistance to his family members. Since he was unmarried, his parents would get the insurance and other benefits. The Minister also expressed regret that such an accident occurred while the project work was in its final stages. He instructed the officials and agency representatives to accord top priority to worker safety during tunnel construction activities.

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