A three-member team of senior technocrats from the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) on Wednesday inspected the site on the Nagakudi campus of the Central University of Tamil Nadu here where a building under construction collapsed on March 29, killing five persons and injuring 16 others. Sources told The Hindu that the team was deputed by the Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu to probe the incident from various angles and suggest solutions to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Additional Director General Mukesh Vij of the CPWD is leading the team comprising a structural engineering specialist and a material quality specialist. The team took samples of the material used for construction of the pergola that collapsed, sought lab details, went into the quality and strength of the scaffolding elements deployed, sources said. Besides, the team members made inquiries with the injured workers and other labourers present at the site about the sequence of events. The members also asked the CUTN authorities about the action taken.
On Thursday, the CPWD team plans to meet the four arrested, who are lodged in the Central Prisons, Tiruchi. They would be looking for clues to fill the gaps that led to the structural collapse of a major facility involving public funds through Central agencies.
