The Hindu : New Delhi News : Seven killed in Delhi building collapse

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Seven killed in Delhi building collapse

Staff Reporter

Inquiry ordered; compensation announced; officials suspended; rescue operations under way

– PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

IT ALL HAPPENED HERE: Rescue operations in full swing at Brahmpuri in Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: A four-storey building under construction at Brahmpuri in North-East Delhi caved in on Saturday morning killing at least seven persons, including two children, and injuring over a dozen. Rescue operations were under way until late at night as more people were feared trapped under the debris.

Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna ordered a magisterial inquiry into the tragedy and the Delhi Government announced a compensation of Rs.1 lakh for the next of kin of each adult killed and Rs.50,000 for the family of each minor victim.

According to the police, the building came crumbling down around 7-30 in the morning when labourers were digging in the basement. Apparently because of a weak foundation, the entire structure collapsed like a pack of cards, trapping nearly 30 labourers under the rubble. A part of the building fell on an adjoining house, killing five-year-old Raja and his one-year-old sister Nazia.

Eight fire tenders were pressed into service and a disaster management team was rushed to the spot. A crane and earth excavators were deployed to clear the rubble. By evening, rescue teams had pulled out 21 people from under the debris and rushed them to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital and Trauma Centre where five of the victims were declared dead on arrival. Two died in the hospital. Three of those killed have been identified as Ikram (18), Mumtaz (28) and Irshad (28), all from Bihar.

“The rescue operations will continue as we suspect that ten more persons are still trapped inside,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-East Delhi) Rajiv Ranjan, adding that sub-standard material had been used in the construction of the building.

Inquiries by the police revealed that the building was owned by Deepak Garg. A case of causing death due to criminal negligence has been registered against him and two building contractors, Alam and Quddus.

The role of a municipal councillor and another resident of the area is being probed by the police.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit visited the hospital. She was accompanied by her ministerial colleague Arvinder Singh Lovely, her son Sandeep Dikshit MP and some MLAs.

Ms. Dikshit directed the Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) to institute an inquiry into the incident and announced a compensation of Rs.1 lakh to the next of the kin of each adult killed and Rs.50,000 to the family of each minor deceased. She said if the deceased were found to be from families below the poverty line, the compensation would be enhanced from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.2 lakh and from Rs.50,000 to Rs.75,000, respectively. Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra announced a compensation of Rs.50,000 each to the families of the deceased.

Stating that the entire cost of treatment of the injured would be borne by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Mayor directed the Commissioner to order a vigilance inquiry and suspend the officials responsible for the tragedy.

Later in the day, Deputy Commissioner A. K. Singh, Executive Engineer (Building) Sanjay Mallik, Assistant Engineer (Building) B. D. Sharma and Junior Engineer (Building) Pradeep Kumar of Shahdara (North) Zone of the civic body were suspended.

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