VMC suspends engineer after manhole death in Manjalpur; moves to blacklist contractor

Vadodara: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Monday suspended an additional assistant engineer (AAE) over alleged negligence in connection with the death of a man who fell into an open manhole in Manjalpur on Friday night. The deceased, 43-year-old Vipulsinh Zala, a resident of Manjalpur, fell into a manhole near the Manjalpur water tank. He was rescued and taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

Following a preliminary probe, the civic body suspended AAE Atul Bhalgamiya for prima facie negligence and issued a notice to deputy executive engineer Harikrishna Manani. In a statement, VMC emphasized that essential safety protocols, such as barricading work sites and closing roads during maintenance, must be strictly followed.

Vadodara man dies after falling into open sewage manhole; VMC to act against contractorhttps://t.co/fJmZZcSEBu pic.twitter.com/NaWd6nrBBi

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The corporation has also begun proceedings to blacklist contractor Eco Facility Management, the firm handling the cleaning work at the Manjalpur water tank. The civic body has also filed a police complaint against the contractor, and further investigation is in progress. DeshGujarat