137 workers died at Gujarat construction sites in 2018: RTI reply

By A Representative
Right to Information (RTI) replies to the Bandhkam Mazdoor Sangathan (BMS) has revealed that, in 2018, as many as 144 construction work-related accidents took place in Gujarat. Obtained by filling RTI pleas to police stations across the state, the replies show that 137 workers died in these accidents last year.
In statement issued on the occasion of the World Workers' Memorial Day, which falls on April 28, BMS leader Vipul Pandya said, as many as 990 construction workers in Gujarat lost their lives over the last 11 years. Most of accidents took place in top Gujarat metros, Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara, mainly involving migrant workers from Dahod and Panchmahal districts, he added.
Pandya further said that for the safety and health of the construction workers, the Government of India has enacted the Building and Other Construction Works (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) Act, 1996, and the state government formulated rules for the Act in 2003.
About Rs 2,200 crore welfare fund has been collected for the Gujarat Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board under the provisions of the Act. However, he regretted, state government has spent just only Rs 82.16 lakhs on this.
On April 28, it is a day to highlight the issues related to workers' safety and health, by pledging work for workers who died during work and work, and to stop industrial accidents.
Saying that deaths during accidents at construction sites are "increasingly worrisome", Pandya said, according to the International Labour Organization, 27.8 lakh workers die every year in the world due to accidents and work-related illnesses. Every year 60,000 construction workers suffer from fatal accidents.
However, he rued, accurate statistics are not available for India. Studies show, out of every 1000 accidents in the world, 165 accidents take place in India in every 1000 accidents in India, which is the highest.He added, according to a study conducted by Prof Dilip Patel, about 38 workers die daily in India at construction work sites in the country.

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