Eleven people died following two three-storey buildings collapsed in Vadodara in the wee hours on Wednesday. According to officials, while three people injured, more than 40 people feared to be trapped under the debris.
The buildings were constructed by Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA) around 12 years back in Ataladara area. Residents of the buildings had also complaint about poor quality of work to the concerned authority orally but attention was not paid. The buildings were constructed between 1999 and 2001.
Talking to The Pioneer, Vadodara Collector Vinod Rao confirmed the death of 11 people and said that rescue work was immediately started with the help of Army personnel. “Armymen were able to rescue four people, operation is still continue to remove rubble and save others,” said Rao.
Official sources said that of the two collapsed buildings one was absolutely vacant and in other building 14 families were dwelling, luckily one family shifted to some other place a few days back. “The incident occurred at around 4.15 in the morning. The vacant building collapsed first. The adjoining building collapsed after a few minutes while the people were trying to leave the poorly constructed apartment.
Around 500 personnel including Army Jawans and fire brigade staff of Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) are busy in rescue operation. Dog squad has also been brought to locate people trapped under rubble.
The State Government deputed two Ministers — Nitin Patel, who is in-charge Minister of Vadodara City and Saurabh Patel, who elected from Vadodara to oversee the rescue operation.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the death of people due to the incident and announced `2 lakh relief to kin of deceased. The State Government has set an inquiry under retired IAS officer Manjula Subramaniam who served as Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development and Vigilance Commissioner.
Experts from the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA), Institute of Seismological Research (Gandhinagar), Gujarat Engineering Research Institute, Vaodara and Road & Building Department Government of Gujarat are collectively doing testing and finding out reasons behind the collapse. “Material from collapsed building will be tested to decipher the cause,” said an official.