One construction worker was killed and six others were injured when an under-construction five-storey building collapsed in Ghaziabad’s Missal Gadi on Sunday.
The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) said that the building was being constructed without authorisation as it had no plan approval. They had issued a notice to the builder in December 2017.
He did not respond but construction work was stopped. However, after two months, he resumed work without permission.
“The building was scheduled to be demolished by a GDA enforcement team on July 12 but was delayed due to logistics and security reasons,” said a senior official.
Inquiry ordered
District Magistrate Ritu Maheshwari said she had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter.
It seems that the builder had flouted structural engineering norms, including use of poor quality material that led to the collapse.
“The deceased has been identified as Rahul (16). Out of the six injured worker, three are critical and have been admitted to the GTB hospital in Delhi while the three others are admitted to a hospital in Sanjay Nagar. The rescue operation is under way. We suspect more people are still trapped in the debris,” said Vaibhav Krishna, Senior Superintendent of Police (Ghaziabad).
According to locals, around 2.30 p.m., when construction work was going on, the scaffolding and iron girders of the structure gave way taking down all the workers.
A private contractor was involved in the construction of the building that was located on a freehold land.
A police team and Fire Department officials who were the first to respond, called the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to initiate a rescue operation. Four NDRF teams are clearing the debris to rescue those feared trapped. Rain, waterlogging and cramped streets are hampering the operation.
Cracks were reported
The injured workers revealed that cracks had appeared in the pillars in the morning, the police said.
After they informed the builder, he had instructed the workers to plaster the cracks with cement and resume construction work.
The workers were on the top floor when the building collapsed.
The district administration official said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for the family of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured.
Strict action will be taken against the builder and others who are responsible for the building collapse, the official said.
On July 17, two buildings collapsed in the neighbouring Greater Noida’s Shahberi village. Nine people were killed in the incident.
