Another Workplace Death at IIT Kanpur: Systemic Lack of Safety and Medical Protocols

A cryptic communique from the Institute authorities on 23rd October 2023 informed the community that a construction worker named Mr. Shankar had died the day before. It had no other details about the cause of death or the deceased. And there is a serious reason to believe that the communique did not even get the day of the accident correct. We at Hamara Manch tried to collect some basic details about the accident, work conditions at the Hall 14 construction site, and the protocols followed in case a mishap occurs. But the complete lack of transparency as to who is the accountable authority and the extreme secrecy, which everyone is expected to maintain, makes it very difficult to get even the basic facts. We share here the facts which we were able to crosscheck from multiple sources. But this report is not merely to share the untimely and tragic loss of the life of a young person, as it is not an isolated incident. This is the third fatality of a worker in IIT Kanpur in the last 22 months that we at Hamara Manch are aware of. And there seems to be a pattern of serious lapses which should be of grave concern to all of us. Incidentally, the earlier deaths did not even merit a communique from the Institute, and the only documentation is that which was done by Hamara Manch.

In this report we begin with a brief account of the accident at Hall 14 site. The systemic concerns which we identify in this case are the same for not only the earlier two deaths but also the work conditions of the 3000 odd contract workers providing their services to the Institute community. We conclude with a call for the community to raise collective voices to ensure safe work conditions for all workers in the Institute.

Please read the entire report in the attached PDF