By IANS
Dubai : To cash in on the construction boom in Bahrain by completing projects quickly, contractors are compromising the safety of foreign workers at worksites, the Indian ambassador has said.
“Embassy officials have been investigating a spate of construction site accidents involving Indian workers and whether contractors are cutting safety corners to keep up with the rush,” Indian Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty said Sunday after visiting the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) to inquire about the health of two Indian workers who were seriously injured in two separate accidents.
Abdul Samat Abdulrahim, 23, fell through a glass roof of a home in Manama and needed a brain surgery.
Mohammed Kaji, 29, suffered spinal fractures when a lift plummeted from near the top of a 17-storey building under construction. Five other workers in the lift escaped with minor injuries. Both accidents happened Saturday, the Gulf Daily News reported.
“We are also trying to compile a list of such accidents in the last few months to determine if these are related to the increase in construction activity,” the ambassador said.
“There has been some lapse somewhere and officials at the embassy are coordinating with the labour ministry officials as well,” Shetty added.
He said the embassy was concerned about the increasing number of worksite accidents and was going to discuss with Bahraini authorities the measures being taken to prevent such mishaps.
In August, the mission had blacklisted around 45 local firms for violating the country’s labour laws and denying Indian workers their basic rights. The companies were found mistreating workers, providing sub-standard accommodation and not paying wages.