‘Adani Group should compensate Ananthu’s family’; no compromise on safety of people, says minister

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister V Sivankutty said the government will ensure assistance to the family of BDS student Ananthu, who died after a boulder fell on his head from the lorry carrying gravel to Vizhinjam International Port. He was talking to the media after visiting Ananthu's family.

The minister said that he will hold talks with the chief minister and take the necessary decision in this regard. Adani Group should provide assistance to Ananthu's family. Ananthu, the BDS student, was the hope of the family. Adani Group should compensate the family considering this. There will be a detailed investigation into the incident. The locals are complaining that many incidents like this happen, including a child's leg having to be amputated.

Construction activities without following the safety norms cannot be permitted. The government's stand is that the construction of Vizhinjam port should be completed as soon as possible. However, the safety of the people cannot be compromised. The district collector has been instructed to look into all the issues pointed and submit a report. Sharing the grief of the family,' the minister said.

The incident happened at Manalivila Mullumukku on the Mukkola-Balaramapuram road yesterday morning at 8 am. Ananthu was going to his college in Balaramapuram on his scooter. The lorry coming from the opposite direction was overloaded with gravel. A boulder that rolled down from the lorry first hit his head and then his chest and then fell on the handle of the scooter. Meanwhile, the scooter which lost control overturned after hitting a wall nearby.

The boulder fell from the lorry when it fell into a pothole on the road in front of Adani's tetrapod manufacturing facility for the port. Ananthu's helmet was broken after the boulder weighing around 20 kg fell on his head. The bones of the chest were broken and the internal organs including the heart and liver were seriously injured. Ananthu, who was lying in a pool of blood was rushed to NIMS hospital by the locals in 108 ambulance. He succumbed to his injuries by afternoon.