Toll in Ambala building collapse climbs to six, CM announces ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh
Ambala, Sep 28 (PTI) The death toll in the collapse of a three-storey building under construction at Dhulkot village here has climbed to six, officials said on Monday.
Two more people, who were pulled out from under the debris, were declared dead late Sunday night, they said.
The building collapsed on Sunday evening when the concrete slab (lintel) for the roof was being cast on the first floor. The incident left 12 people injured.
The relatives of the deceased sat on a dharna in the Civil Hospital complex in Ambala City, demanding registration of a case against the owner of the building which was being constructed. The bodies of six people who died have been lying in the mortuary of the hospital since Sunday night.
The police have registered a case under various sections of BNS against some unknown persons in this regard. The Sections include 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 289 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing, or constructing buildings etc).
Haryana minister Anil Vij met the injured at the Civil Hospital on Monday and Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of people who died in the incident.
Some labourers were engaged in the casting work on the first floor, while others were working on the ground floor, one of the injured workers said on Sunday.
While three of the 12 injured are still undergoing treatment at a hospital, others have been discharged.
Energy, Transport and Labour Minister Vij, who is MLA from adjoining Ambala Cantt constituency, met the injured at the Civil hospital on Monday and assured their relatives that they will be given justice.
During his visit, Vij spoke over the phone with the Haryana DGP and said a high-level SIT should be formed to investigate the entire incident.
"Six people have died in the incident and many were injured. A high-level SIT should be constituted. Their kin are saying that the police is not recording their statement according to their allegations," Vij told the DGP.
Later, speaking to reporters, Vij raised the issue of unauthorised colonies, saying in the past he had written to the officials three times that checks be imposed.
He said construction work at these colonies don't meet people's needs and the maps for the constructions are not approved. "The result of this is what we saw here yesterday."
"The land mafia's lobby is so strong that even when I wrote, they don't take action," Vij said. "...all those who are guilty will not be spared."
Vij said that people have been complaining that about the building to municipal authorities and three officials had visited too, "but they did not take any action. So, they are also guilty and action will be taken against them as well."
Former Union minister Venod Sharma also reached the Civil hospital and met with relatives of the deceased. He said that the police and administration should take this matter seriously and deliver justice to the victims.
Congress MP from Ambala, Varun Chaudhary, and party's Ambala City MLA Nirmal Singh also met the families of the injured and the workers who lost their lives in the incident.
