New Delhi:
While most of the attention is driven towards cleanliness of the Games' village, one group that seems to have been neglected is that of those workers and labourers who have worked for years in dismal conditions.
Many workers have got injured while working on Games' related projects. But seldom has anyone talked about the missing safety gears without which the workers toil from dawn to dusk.
Vijay, one of the labourers who was working at the foot overbridge site that collapsed on Tuesday, is still nursing an arm injury. Three of his relatives too are still in hospital with spine and chest injuries.
"We were working on the concrete that day, when the overbridge collapsed. There was a loud noise 15 minutes before the incident. And shortly after that the bridge collapsed," said Vijay while waiting outside the trauma center of a hospital.
According to the Delhi Labour commission, so far 50 labourers have died in Commonwealth projects. The figures that the NGO's have show that the toll is higher than the government figures.
Even as the government races to finish projects, they face criticism for going soft on contractors who have a history of poor safety standards and cheating labourers of wages.
At the Barapullah flyover, which will transport athletes from the Games village to key venues, the labourers go on working without gloves, helmets and other safety gears. Worst, they even sleep near the flyover which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
After an NGO filed a petition the Delhi High Court directed the state government to increase compensation to those who were injured in the foot overbridge collapse incident.
"The High court has been issuing orders but the government and the labour commission have been very bold. I mean the CM has not even accepted yet that there have been violations. She still calls these minor glitches. Their attitude is something the world is seeing, the Indian public is watching and everyone's disgusted," said Maushami Basu a member of the NGO called People's Union for Democractic Rights.
Many workers have got injured while working on Games' related projects. But seldom has anyone talked about the missing safety gears without which the workers toil from dawn to dusk.
Vijay, one of the labourers who was working at the foot overbridge site that collapsed on Tuesday, is still nursing an arm injury. Three of his relatives too are still in hospital with spine and chest injuries.
"We were working on the concrete that day, when the overbridge collapsed. There was a loud noise 15 minutes before the incident. And shortly after that the bridge collapsed," said Vijay while waiting outside the trauma center of a hospital.
According to the Delhi Labour commission, so far 50 labourers have died in Commonwealth projects. The figures that the NGO's have show that the toll is higher than the government figures.
Even as the government races to finish projects, they face criticism for going soft on contractors who have a history of poor safety standards and cheating labourers of wages.
At the Barapullah flyover, which will transport athletes from the Games village to key venues, the labourers go on working without gloves, helmets and other safety gears. Worst, they even sleep near the flyover which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
After an NGO filed a petition the Delhi High Court directed the state government to increase compensation to those who were injured in the foot overbridge collapse incident.
"The High court has been issuing orders but the government and the labour commission have been very bold. I mean the CM has not even accepted yet that there have been violations. She still calls these minor glitches. Their attitude is something the world is seeing, the Indian public is watching and everyone's disgusted," said Maushami Basu a member of the NGO called People's Union for Democractic Rights.
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