ID :
150184
Wed, 11/17/2010 - 11:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/150184
The shortlink copeid
66 killed in building collapse, blame game erupts
New Delhi, Nov 16 (PTI) The collapse of a four-storey
building in a congested locality in East Delhi in which 66
people were killed fuelled a blame game Tuesday between the
Delhi Government and the MCD on what led to the worst such
accident in recent times here.
A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder
has been registered against the owner of the building Amrit
Singh, who is absconding and has not been traced yet, police
said.
As rescue workers scrambled to find survivors in
tonnes of debris strewn around in a congested locality, family
members ran from pillar to post trying to find their near and
dear ones. The death toll in the collapse which also left 74
injured rose to 66 after 24 bodies were retrieved Tuesday.
"66 people have died and about 73 are injured and
admitted to various hospitals of the capital with a major
chunk being at the LNJP," police and hospital officials said.
In May 2008, 17 construction workers were killed
when a wall collapsed at a construction site in Delhi.
41 bodies have been taken to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash
Narayan Hospital (LNJP), 16 to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital,
six to Hedgewar Hospital and three to Guru Teg Bahadur
Hospital, officials said. Of the 66 dead, 27 were females,
they said, adding 16 chidlren were among the victims.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a report
from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi(MCD) on the mishap.
Over 60 families, mostly labourers from West Bengal,
were living in the cramped quarters of the 15-year-old
building, where an illegal fifth floor was under construction.
The entire structure came crashing down around 8.15 PM
Monday at Lalita Park in Laxmi Nagar.
Around 30-40 people have been rescued since last night
and it is difficult to say whether more people are trapped
inside, police and fire officials said.
A blame-game has erupted between Delhi Government and
MCD with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit directly putting the
onus on the civic body for the building collapse and the
BJP-ruled agency denying the charge.
Holding MCD responsible for the incident, Dikshit
said the the builder should not have been allowed to construct
floors beyond permissible level and the quality of the
building should also have been examined.
MCD Standing Committee Chairman and BJP leader
Yogender Chandolia, however, sought to blame the Delhi
government's Flood and Irrigation Department over accumulation
of water at the basement of the building that collapsed.
Most of the victims remained unidentified but belonged
to migrant Bihari and Bengali labourer families.
The Delhi Government announced an ex-gratia of Rs two
lakh each to the families of those killed and Rs one lakh to
the injured.
Dikshit and Lieutenant Governor Tejindra Khanna, who
visited the site of the building collapse in Lakshmi Nagar,
said strict action would be taken against those found guilty
in the incident.
A magisterial inquiry has already been ordered into
the incident.
Delhi government directed MCd to urgently make a
survey of all buildings in Laxmi Nagar area to determine their
structural deficiencies, if any.
At a high-level meeting attended by top officials of
MCD, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Delhi
Development Authority, Urban Development Department and Delhi
Jal Board, the civic body was told to begin the survey Tuesday
and based on it take necessary action, including evacuation of
people, so that such incidents do not recur.
The survey would be carried out within a radius of 300
metres from Pushta Road where the building collapsed last
night.
Delhi Urban Development Minister A K Walia said
authorities are looking into how the building was allowed to
come up and prima facie it seems that proximity to the river
Yamuna and water-logging were the reasons for the collapse.
The building had been rented out to migrant labourers
and some factories and workshops were being illegally run
from there.
The foundation of the building is suspected to have
weakened following heavy rains during monsoon when Yamuna
river had flooded the area. The basement of the building was
waterlogged for the last two months, nearby residents said.
Debri clearance operations were in full swing with
rescue workers from National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF), fire department, police, civil defence and locals
working together remove tons of concrete from the spot and
find trapped people.
"The debris clearance operation is likely to be completed
only by Wednesday morning. We have to remove every bit of
debris and see whether there are any bodies trapped in the
basement," R C Sharma, Director of Delhi Fire Services, said.
A 250-member disaster management team has been deployed
to help in rescue effort.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi visited the LNJP and Lal
Bahadur Shastri hospitals where a majority of the injured have
been admitted. PTI SMT
PBL
building in a congested locality in East Delhi in which 66
people were killed fuelled a blame game Tuesday between the
Delhi Government and the MCD on what led to the worst such
accident in recent times here.
A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder
has been registered against the owner of the building Amrit
Singh, who is absconding and has not been traced yet, police
said.
As rescue workers scrambled to find survivors in
tonnes of debris strewn around in a congested locality, family
members ran from pillar to post trying to find their near and
dear ones. The death toll in the collapse which also left 74
injured rose to 66 after 24 bodies were retrieved Tuesday.
"66 people have died and about 73 are injured and
admitted to various hospitals of the capital with a major
chunk being at the LNJP," police and hospital officials said.
In May 2008, 17 construction workers were killed
when a wall collapsed at a construction site in Delhi.
41 bodies have been taken to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash
Narayan Hospital (LNJP), 16 to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital,
six to Hedgewar Hospital and three to Guru Teg Bahadur
Hospital, officials said. Of the 66 dead, 27 were females,
they said, adding 16 chidlren were among the victims.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a report
from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi(MCD) on the mishap.
Over 60 families, mostly labourers from West Bengal,
were living in the cramped quarters of the 15-year-old
building, where an illegal fifth floor was under construction.
The entire structure came crashing down around 8.15 PM
Monday at Lalita Park in Laxmi Nagar.
Around 30-40 people have been rescued since last night
and it is difficult to say whether more people are trapped
inside, police and fire officials said.
A blame-game has erupted between Delhi Government and
MCD with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit directly putting the
onus on the civic body for the building collapse and the
BJP-ruled agency denying the charge.
Holding MCD responsible for the incident, Dikshit
said the the builder should not have been allowed to construct
floors beyond permissible level and the quality of the
building should also have been examined.
MCD Standing Committee Chairman and BJP leader
Yogender Chandolia, however, sought to blame the Delhi
government's Flood and Irrigation Department over accumulation
of water at the basement of the building that collapsed.
Most of the victims remained unidentified but belonged
to migrant Bihari and Bengali labourer families.
The Delhi Government announced an ex-gratia of Rs two
lakh each to the families of those killed and Rs one lakh to
the injured.
Dikshit and Lieutenant Governor Tejindra Khanna, who
visited the site of the building collapse in Lakshmi Nagar,
said strict action would be taken against those found guilty
in the incident.
A magisterial inquiry has already been ordered into
the incident.
Delhi government directed MCd to urgently make a
survey of all buildings in Laxmi Nagar area to determine their
structural deficiencies, if any.
At a high-level meeting attended by top officials of
MCD, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Delhi
Development Authority, Urban Development Department and Delhi
Jal Board, the civic body was told to begin the survey Tuesday
and based on it take necessary action, including evacuation of
people, so that such incidents do not recur.
The survey would be carried out within a radius of 300
metres from Pushta Road where the building collapsed last
night.
Delhi Urban Development Minister A K Walia said
authorities are looking into how the building was allowed to
come up and prima facie it seems that proximity to the river
Yamuna and water-logging were the reasons for the collapse.
The building had been rented out to migrant labourers
and some factories and workshops were being illegally run
from there.
The foundation of the building is suspected to have
weakened following heavy rains during monsoon when Yamuna
river had flooded the area. The basement of the building was
waterlogged for the last two months, nearby residents said.
Debri clearance operations were in full swing with
rescue workers from National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF), fire department, police, civil defence and locals
working together remove tons of concrete from the spot and
find trapped people.
"The debris clearance operation is likely to be completed
only by Wednesday morning. We have to remove every bit of
debris and see whether there are any bodies trapped in the
basement," R C Sharma, Director of Delhi Fire Services, said.
A 250-member disaster management team has been deployed
to help in rescue effort.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi visited the LNJP and Lal
Bahadur Shastri hospitals where a majority of the injured have
been admitted. PTI SMT
PBL
