By IANS
Jajpur : Police force was deployed at Jindal Stainless Limited's unit in the Kalinga Nagar industrial complex of Orissa as workers protested after a mishap in which a contract labourer was critically injured Monday.
The mishap occurred in the power plant site of the company in Kalinga Nagar, the steel hub of Orissa that is some 100 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.
The contract labourer identified as A. Purusottam Rao, 40, of Jarada village in Ganjam district was seriously injured when an iron beam fell during the erection of the unit.
"Rao was initially rushed to the government hospital at Danagadi. He was shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack after his condition deteriorated," Arjun Barik, a local police inspector, told IANS.
As the news of the mishap spread, hundreds of workers including contract labourers of the firm surrounded the plant, demanding compensation for the injured. Construction work was disrupted for over two hours.
Police reached the spot and brought the situation under control. One platoon of policemen was deployed at the site to avoid any untoward incident, police officials added.
A plant official said: "Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) was entrusted with the erection of the power plant but later BHEL gave a sub-contract to Bhavani Erect and L&T, two private agencies, for the same."
Mani Pillai, an official of Bhavani Erect, said: "Rao was our labourer and we have provided him timely treatment. He will be substantially compensated for his injuries."
Workers allege that the Jindal campus has witnessed as many as 21 mishaps this year, claiming eight lives and injuring nearly 100 in the last seven months.
Jindal Stainless Contractual Workers' Association president Bidyadhar Mohanty said: "The plant has turned into a death trap. No security measures have been taken by the plant authorities despite repeated pleas.
"If authorities fail to take security measures for the workers soon, we will be forced to paralyse plant operations," he warned.