The Hindu : Tragedy sparks debate on building boom

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 17, 2004

International

International

Tragedy sparks debate on building boom

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, FEB. 16. Rescue workers on Monday called off the search for survivors in Moscow's worst man-made disaster — the collapse on Saturday of the roof over a huge water park that may have killed nearly 40 persons.

The reinforced concrete-steel-and-glass roof, the size of a soccer field, collapsed from a height of 20 metres on Saturday evening. An estimated 352 persons were in the pool area, right below the roof. The Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, said nine to 13 persons may still be

buried under the rubble, but none could have survived till Monday with air temperature hovering around minus 10 degrees Centigrade. He said the toll stood at 25, refuting earlier reports that 28 people had been killed.

Of the 113 injured persons, 80 remained in hospital, at least five in critical condition. Prosecutors blamed shoddy construction and poor maintenance for the roof collapse in the entertainment park, Transvaal. The Russian Government has suspended the licences of a Russian architectural firm and a Turkish construction company which built the project.

The tragedy has sparked debate over a building boom in Moscow in which quality is often sacrificed for profit-seeking. The Moscow construction business is riddled with "theft, falsifications, corruption, and poor building quality," writes the Vremya Novostei daily.

The President, Vladimir Putin, offered condolences to the victims of the tragedy and demanded that a thorough investigation be carried out and that those responsible be punished. Several media claimed Transvaal, built in 2002, was bought by a front company controlled by the Moscow Mayor's wife, Yelena Baturina, who is a successful businesswoman. If confirmed, this would be a typical illustration to Russia's "oligarchic capitalism," marked by a close nexus between business and the Government.

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