Job lost, sanitation worker found hanging in Noida

NOIDA: A sanitation worker, who had been handed a termination letter by a Noida Authority contractor two days ago, was found hanging late Wednesday night in his rented accommodation.
Anil Kumar (28) had been employed with the Noida Authority for the past 15 years and was staying in Morna village in Sector 35. The sole bread earner of his family, he is survived by his wife and six children.
Anil’s family said that his body was found around 8pm, after which he was taken to ESIC Hospital in Sector 24.Doctors declared him brought dead on arrival.
Sanitation workers, who have been protesting outside the Authority office in Sector 6, said Anil was one of the 400-500 people who had received termination letters from the contractor.
Ram Nath, Anil’s uncle, said he had been disturbed about losing his job.
“On Monday, he received a letter from his contractor informing that his services were being terminated with effect from September 15. Anil was very upset. He called up his wife Sushma and said he didn’t know how he would raise his six children,” he said, adding that he discussed the situation with her on Wednesday too.
Anil’s family alleged that he lost his job because of his participation in the protests. They further claimed that after his death, his house was surrounded by policemen, who did not allow anyone in.
“Police surrounded his room and his family was made to sit in a bus destined for Meerut immediately after the autopsy. Two police vehicles followed theirs for some distance to ensure they didn’t return to Noida,” Ram Nath alleged.
Anil’s aunt Mithilesh Devi accused Noida Authority of ‘harassment’.
“Anil has sacrificed his life for the cause of the sanitation workers. The high-handedness of the Authority officials has resulted in his death,” she said.
On Thursday morning, Authority officials said Anil had died due to ‘personal reasons’. Later, SC Mishra, project engineer, Noida Authority, said he was a worker of the contractor, and not the Authority. “His services were terminated since he was not turning up for work,” he added.
Since September 1, sanitation workers have been protesting against the contract system of Noida Authority, alleging that contractors are nowhere to be seen on ground.
Many of them, who had threatened to convert to Islam if their demands were not met, had also been booked by the Sector 20 police.
“We are working on a payroll of Rs 24,000 a month but a 2.5% commission is deducted and handed over to the contractor, whom we have never seen. We directly deal with the Authority officials,” Satvir Makwana, district general secretary of Akhil Bhartiya Safai Mazdoor Sangh, said, adding that after his death, Anil’s family had been offered a meagre amount of Rs 10,000.