Five people were killed and several others injured after a 100 feet long and 15 feet high boundary wall of an under-construction godown collapsed in Outer Delhi’s Bakoli village in Alipur on Friday afternoon. The Delhi police have arrested the contractor and site supervisor.
The police said a complaint of the incident was received at 12.40 p.m. wall collapse of an under-construction structure in Bakoli village. Initially, around 20 labourers were said to be digging a foundation adjacent to the wall and were reported buried under the debris, according to Atul Garg, Director at Delhi Fire Service (DFS). He said the godown was being built in a 5,000-square yards plot.
Three ambulances and 30-35 firefighters reached the spot following the complaint. At first, 13 labourers were shifted to Satyawadi Raja Harish Chandra Hospital in Narela. Two earthmovers and four fire tenders were called in for clearing the debris, while a forensics team was also called to the spot.
According to Deputy Commandant of National Disaster Response Force, Aditya P. Singh, the initial information they received said six to 12 people were feared trapped. Later, technical, manual and canine-based searches were conducted at the site, he added. The NDRF sent 47 personnel to the site of the collapse.
The police said, five of the 13 rescued people were declared dead. Of the eight injured, one was transferred to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital and four were referred to a different hospital. Others were discharged after first aid.
The deceased have been identified as Rishipal (40), Pramod Kumar (35), Bablu(30), Pramod (45), and another Pramod (35).
The residents of the area said many locals helped in rescuing the workers. One of the rescuers Mukim Khan (21) was an eyewitness at the spot and was able to save four persons.
He was outside the site when he heard a loud sound. “I heard people crying, I went there to help and found many trapped under the debris,” he said. He said the ambulance was late to arrive, hence people in the locality started the rescue work. After some time, earthmovers were pressed into service, but most of them were trapped beyond the machine’s reach. They had to be pulled up by hand. The height of the debris was waist high,” he said.
At the construction site, many feared for their lives and said similar incidents have happened in the past. Relatives of the deceased were crying inconsolably in the hospital. Some of them said they had lost the sole breadwinner of their family. They have four or five mouths to feed. Some of them had started working at the site just two or three days back.
It was Munna Kumar’s (35) first day at the construction site. He used to work as a cook at weddings in Patna and came looking for work in Delhi to sustain his family. He earns Rs. 500 a day.
“I rescued two-three people and took them in a vehicle with the help of Sikandar, the contractor. I saw Sikandar for some time while he was helping people, but later, he wasn’t there,” he added.
Pramod Kumar’s wife, Meena Devi, 30 and his sister Malti Devi, 35, along with some relatives had come to Delhi on Monday from Jharkhand to look for a job. The entire family was working to earn money for a wedding which was scheduled for next year.
“Most of us were working at the site, however, we were standing on the other aside, we could see Pramod’s face when the bricks fell on top of him, but we couldn’t rescue him because it was chaotic,” said Ms. Malti.
Ram Kishor, 35, was working at the construction site for a month and a half. He was standing away from the wall. However, when it collapsed, a few bricks hit his feet resulting in a fracture.
“I remember my feet under the debris, I couldn’t find anybody to help me, so I gathered some pressure and pulled my leg out, I fell unconscious for some time,” he said. Mr. Kishor lives in Samaipur Badli, and he’s from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
According to Mr. Garg, the building is an unauthorised construction.
The Delhi police said an FIR under Section 288 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings), 304 (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing act which causes endangerment to human life) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the land owner Shakti Singh (40), a resident of Bakoli village, and the contractor, Sikandar. The police arrested the contractor and site supervisor, Satish.
A senior official at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi said they had undertaken a demolition drive on April 22 to bring down the unauthorised construction..
“After the structure was demolished, we (MCD) wrote to the concerned police station to keep a watch and ensure that construction activities did not resume. However, on July 13, our Junior Engineer, during a field visit, found that construction had resumed and a notice was issued to the owner in this regard,” said the senior MCD official.
A senior police officer said, a notice was issued on July 7 to MCD regarding the construction, after they asked the police to keep a strict vigil. However, no response was received.
PM anguished
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish over the incident. “Anguished by the mishap in Alipur, Delhi. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those who are injured recover at the earliest,” Mr. Modi tweeted.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he was monitoring the relief work. “A very tragic incident happened in Alipur. The district administration is involved in relief and rescue work. I am monitoring the relief work. I pray for the souls of the deceased,” the CM tweeted.
