DAVANAGERE: Despite the government taking measures to end manual scavenging, there seems to be no end to this dangerous practice. In a tragic incident, two civic workers died allegedly after inhaling toxic gas while cleaning a drain at Basavanakote village in Jagalur taluk on Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as Satyappa (45) and Mylarappa (42). Basavanakote Gram Panchayat PDO Shashidhara Patil had issued an order to clean the drainage ahead of Ugadi festival. Acting on the order, Satyappa and Mylarappa started to clean the drain without taking any precautionary measures. But both inhaled toxic fumes while cleaning the drain.
Immediately, both were shifted to the Arasikere Government Hospital, but their condition worsened and they were shifted to the Davanagere District Hospital. However, they did not respond to treatment and died. A case has been registered at the Bilichodu police station.