File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (AFP Photo)
Varanasi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was distressed by the death of a labourer in a mishap at the venue of his rally, which was later cancelled. The labourers family would be given a compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh.
"When PM Modi heard the news of the tragic death of the labourer at the DLW Grounds, he felt grief and expressed his condolences. He also said that in deference to the departed soul, it would not be proper to go ahead with the functions scheduled for the day," Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters.
He said the family members of the labourer, who was electrocuted after he held a wire while falling, will be given a compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh by the Power Finance Corporation which was the organiser of the proposed function at the Diesel Locomotive Works Ground.
The Prime Minister's programme included launching of the Integrated Power Development Scheme in his Lok Sabha constituency - Varanasi.
Replying to a query, Mr Goyal denied that any shortcoming in the electric wiring could have caused the death of the labourer and asserted, "I have myself visited the site of the incident and spoken to some of the other labourers present on the spot, who I was told were also distant relatives of the deceased."
"They told me that the worker was standing on a platform seven to eight feet high when he tripped and gripped a wire to prevent himself from crashing on the ground.
"Electricity was passing through the wire which snapped under his weight and caused his electrocution," the Minister said.
Devnath, a gardner from West Bengal, died in the wee hours after he suffered an electric shock from a damaged electric wire at DLW grounds, District Magistrate Pranjal Yadav said.
Station Officer of Manduadih police station Gopal Prasad Gupta said that Mr Devnath slipped while working and caught hold of an electric wire passing from a pole near him. The wire suddenly broke and he received an electric shock.
He was immediately rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries on the way.
The Union Power Minister said he has also spoken to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and "requested that a thorough investigation be conducted."
"I have learnt that a magisterial probe has been ordered.
Besides, the police will do the needful and lodge FIRs, if needed, once the post-mortem was done", Mr Goyal said.
Asked whether the Power Department could consider departmental action against any officials who might be found lacking in making safe arrangements, the Minister said "such things can be talked about only once the magisterial inquiry is complete and a report has been submitted".
Mr Goyal also remarked "politics should not be done in such matters" when some journalists referred to the statement of local Congress MLA Ajay Rai that he would himself proceed to "inaugurate" the trauma centre at the BHU since "the Prime Minister is not finding it convenient to do the needful".
Mr Rai had begun his political career as a BJP MLA in the 1990s before resigning in 2009 when his plea for a Lok Sabha ticket was rejected by the party which fielded veteran leader Murli Manohar Joshi from here.
Mr Rai, who unsuccessfully fought the Lok Sabha polls on a Samajwadi Party ticket, later joined the Congress and became an MLA again in 2012.
The party fielded him from Varanasi against Narendra Modi in the general elections last year.
However, Mr Rai finished third and lost his deposit in the high-profile contest which saw Mr Modi defeating his nearest rival - Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party - by a margin of 3.7 lakh votes.
"When PM Modi heard the news of the tragic death of the labourer at the DLW Grounds, he felt grief and expressed his condolences. He also said that in deference to the departed soul, it would not be proper to go ahead with the functions scheduled for the day," Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters.
He said the family members of the labourer, who was electrocuted after he held a wire while falling, will be given a compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh by the Power Finance Corporation which was the organiser of the proposed function at the Diesel Locomotive Works Ground.
The Prime Minister's programme included launching of the Integrated Power Development Scheme in his Lok Sabha constituency - Varanasi.
Replying to a query, Mr Goyal denied that any shortcoming in the electric wiring could have caused the death of the labourer and asserted, "I have myself visited the site of the incident and spoken to some of the other labourers present on the spot, who I was told were also distant relatives of the deceased."
"They told me that the worker was standing on a platform seven to eight feet high when he tripped and gripped a wire to prevent himself from crashing on the ground.
"Electricity was passing through the wire which snapped under his weight and caused his electrocution," the Minister said.
Devnath, a gardner from West Bengal, died in the wee hours after he suffered an electric shock from a damaged electric wire at DLW grounds, District Magistrate Pranjal Yadav said.
Station Officer of Manduadih police station Gopal Prasad Gupta said that Mr Devnath slipped while working and caught hold of an electric wire passing from a pole near him. The wire suddenly broke and he received an electric shock.
He was immediately rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries on the way.
The Union Power Minister said he has also spoken to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and "requested that a thorough investigation be conducted."
"I have learnt that a magisterial probe has been ordered.
Besides, the police will do the needful and lodge FIRs, if needed, once the post-mortem was done", Mr Goyal said.
Asked whether the Power Department could consider departmental action against any officials who might be found lacking in making safe arrangements, the Minister said "such things can be talked about only once the magisterial inquiry is complete and a report has been submitted".
Mr Goyal also remarked "politics should not be done in such matters" when some journalists referred to the statement of local Congress MLA Ajay Rai that he would himself proceed to "inaugurate" the trauma centre at the BHU since "the Prime Minister is not finding it convenient to do the needful".
Mr Rai had begun his political career as a BJP MLA in the 1990s before resigning in 2009 when his plea for a Lok Sabha ticket was rejected by the party which fielded veteran leader Murli Manohar Joshi from here.
Mr Rai, who unsuccessfully fought the Lok Sabha polls on a Samajwadi Party ticket, later joined the Congress and became an MLA again in 2012.
The party fielded him from Varanasi against Narendra Modi in the general elections last year.
However, Mr Rai finished third and lost his deposit in the high-profile contest which saw Mr Modi defeating his nearest rival - Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party - by a margin of 3.7 lakh votes.
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