A wall built in 1935 at Har ki Paidi collapsed on Tuesday though nobody was injured as the site was deserted at the time of the incident.
While some said that the wall collapsed after a lightning strike in the wee hours on Tuesday, others averred that the incident was caused by departmental negligence.
The additional Mela officer Lalit Narayan Mishra who inspected the site has ordered a technical team to inspect the collapsed wall. The team will submit its report soon.
Meanwhile, orders have been issued to repair the site at Har ki Paidi, he added.The local councillor Shruti Khevadia said that there are nine feet pits dug on a road on Mansa Devi hill. Heavy rain on Monday and anomalies in works caused the collapse, she said while adding that the incident should be investigated.
The councillor further averred that officials have been repeatedly informed in municipal corporation meetings about excavations being done without proper planning but the officials are focused mainly on completion of the works.
Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) president Mahant Narendra Giri also reached the site to view the damage.“One cannot deny that the road to Har ki Paidi built on Mansa Devi has large holes due to underground electricity project. The people there say that they saw lightning strike in the night but departmental negligence cannot be ruled out. Water was leaking through the wall and had the collapse taken place during the daytime or on an occasion, the mishap could have been greater,” said Giri.Later during the evening, cabinet minister Madan Kaushik also reached the spot and held a meeting with the office bearers of the Ganga Sabha. The minister phoned the officials and asked them to prepare a supplemental estimate within two days and start construction soon. The Kumbh Mela IG Sanjay Gunjyal and Kumbh Mela SSP Janmejay Khanduri also reached the spot and inspected the site.