Plea filed seeking compensation from officials

Blaming PWD officials for not maintaining the Cauvery river bed properly, a man today filed a plea in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking Rs 30 lakh compensation for the death of his wife and daughter, who drowned in quicksand at Perugamani in Karur district.
The petitioner T.Sasikumar said his wife and 12-year-old daughter had gone to the river on April 29, 2013 for taking holy dip and bringing water for the "Theerthavari festival' at the local Mariamman temple. As many as 200 devotees had turned up to take water from the river.
His wife, daughter and two others got sucked by the quicksand. The bodies were later recovered.The officials should have put up a warning board about the quicksand.Besides the quicksand in the area had been created artificially by illegal sand miners, he alleged.

He contended that PWD officials had failed in their duty to protect those who take bath in the river by not putting up a warning board and maintaining the river bed properly.
He submitted he had filed a representation to the Secretaries of Home, PWD and Revenue Department seeking compensation.As there was no response, he filed the plea seeking a direction to them to pay the compensation.
Justice M.Venugopal, admitting the petition, ordered issue of notice to the officials, including the Secretaries and Chief Engineers, seeking their reply within four weeks.