MAN HOLES ARE NOT FOR MEN. DON'T FALL INTO DEATH TRAPS

If Man wants to escape  death he should not have taken birth. At the same time he should not die like a little insect for petty things and sheer ignorance as Shakespeare laments in his King Lear, "As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods;

          They kill us for their sport." 

Countless number of people  are getting killed in absolutely   avoidable circumstances. One such circumstance is physically entering into man holes to clear sludge/blocks without wearing any safety gear. When a machine can be used for the purpose, people are taking risks and  make their lives vulnerable and leave untold sufferings for their kids  and spouses. The second such common but avoidable act is getting into a sump/ well for various purposes. In both the cases precious lives are lost due to the presence of poisonous gases like methane,hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen oxide  and the electronic media is happy that they get their news time with a 'sensational news' and the press with a 'moving story' and every one neglecting the reasons for such sad stories that occur in our cities with unfailing regularity.

If simple precautions are taken before venturing such activities, these tragedies can be avoided. But to create an awareness on this most important issue I have neither space nor any reach among the masses. However if my suggestion reaches a single person and percolates down below and saves a life down the ages anywhere in the world today or tomorrow the spent by me wouldn't go waste.

Do's and 'Don'ts. 

1. Never enter a 'manhole' at any cost even with safety gears. Use  Suction machines instead.

2. Never enter a well used/unused/closed/kept open- any type without testing it for the presence of  any poisonous gas
3. Don't drink and then enter a well or manhole as you can not sense the gas immediate.
4. Go for 'bio-gas plants' and help save environment and save lives.
5. In case of  emergency take all the precautions (complete safety gear with oxygen masks, goggles,gum boots,helmet) and enter the well informing the local fire service, neighbours, volunteers and ensure in the vicinity that 'this assignment is on'. This is to help fight any emergency as most of the times one person enters the man hole , after seeing him not return for some time. Panicked he too gets down to save and gets trapped.
6. In case of closed/unused wells  down a bucket with a burning camphor and the camphor burns without any flicker means 'safe'. Test this many times before entering any such deep wells.
7. If the camphor stops burning there is poisonous gas without any doubt. Keep open the well/sump for a day and then test and continue your work.
8. It is not the presence of poisonous gas alone that chokes but the less amount of oxygen available for breathing is also a factor.
9. This simple test can be undertaken before entering any well/sump.
10. Help save families.


NEWS ITEMS ANNOUNCING SUCH INNUMERABLE TRAGEDIES




Photo:Mohamed Yousef/the Hindu

Two cleaning well die of asphyxiation

TNN Apr 23, 2013, 04.01AM IST

CHENNAI: Two men cleaning a well in a hotel at Thousand Lights died of asphyxiation early on Monday morning. The two workers are suspected to have inhaled some toxic gas in the closed well. The water in the well was used to clean utensils. Police said Robert, 37, a construction labourer of Kannigapuram in Vysarpadi, and Sekar, 46, a painter of Perambur came to Hotel Neelam along with workers Ravi and Jagadesan. Robert first entered the 30-ft-deep well after opening the iron hatch. When he did not come out for a long time, Sekar grew anxious and entered the well and he too swooned, police said.

Metrowater worker, engineer asphyxiated in manhole

Despite a Supreme Court order against manual cleaning of manholes, a contract worker on duty for Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) in Perambur died of asphyxiation in the small hours of Wednesday. A Junior Engineer of the department who attempted to rescue him also fell into the manhole and died. Police said the worker did not have necessary safe equipment.

Two die of asphyxiation in Saidapet

Two workers of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board died of asphyxiation when they were working on an underground sewer network in Saidapet here on Monday afternoon. The men didn't have adequate safety equipment, police said.

MGNREGA workers die while cleaning unused well

Three Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme workers died after reportedly inhaling some poisonous gas while cleaning an unused well without wearing any safety equipment in Barabanki district on Saturday.

"Earlier this month, a group of men set forth to unblock a drain sewer in the basement of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in Delhi. Two of the men, Ashok and Chhotu, entered the sewer but did not return. The other two, Rajeshwar and Satish, went in to look for their colleagues. Three of the four men, assaulted by the poisonous rush of gases, lost their lives on the spot. Chhotu survived and was pulled out. Ashok, Rajeshwar and Satish became a statistic alongside other sewage workers like Robert and Shekhar who also died of asphyxiation while unblocking a sewage tank in a private hotel in Chennai in April this year."