Goa, Sept. 7 -- The Labour Commissioner has ruled that both the Public Works Department (PWD) and the contractor engaged for road works at Verna must take equal responsibility for the horrific accident that killed four labourers in May last year, directing them to jointly compensate the victims' families. Commissioner Levinson Martins passed the order under the Employees Compensation Act, instructing that the due amounts be deposited with the Commissioner for Employees Compensation within 30 days. The payment, he said, must be made through a demand draft payable in Panjim.

Among the cases decided was that of Ramesh Mahato, a native of Bihar, who was among the four labourers killed when a bus crashed into the temporary accommodation provi...