A
tea garden worker in Simring tea estate under Kurseong sub-division was
today reportedly electrocuted while chopping cutting a tree branch.
Sarkiman Darjee (53) was a resident of Simring tea garden and was
engaged in garden work. He was cutting tree branches around 8:00am in
the morning when a branch fell on a high tension line killing him on the
spot.
The Tindharay police retrieved the body
that was found stuck to a tree with help from some locals and sent to
Kurseong sub-divisional hospital from where it was handed over to the
family later in the evening.
Following the unfortunate incident,
Mahanadi-Tindharay constituency GTA member Prabha Chettri led a group of
estate residents and demonstrated outside the WBSEDCL office in
Kurseong. She said a family member of the deceased must be given a job
as the sole earner of the family is no more. Chettri said the power
department officials have assured of placing the demand to their
higher-ups in Kolkata.
Chettri blamed the electricity
department for the accident saying it was due to its negligence. She
said residents and the management of Simring TG had requested the power
department about 11 months ago to realign the high tension cables
passing through the plantation area so that a safe distance could be
maintained from the trees. But the requests fell on deaf ears and the
negligence has cost a life, alleged the GTA member.
She also assured all possible aid to the
deceased’s family from the GTA while handing out Rs5,000 in cash for
conducting the last rites of Darjee who has left behind his wife and
four children. (EOIC)