Hyderabad: At least two persons were killed and another injured when a seven-storey under-construction building collapsed in Gachibowli’s Anjaiah Nagar on Saturday, August 22, police said.
According to reports, the building was built on just 50 yards. Debris from the building collapsed onto the neighbouring apartment complex in the Whitefields area, causing some damage to the structure.
Two bodies were recovered from the debris. They have been identified as Mahtab and Umesh, tile workers from Madhya Pradesh, reports stated.
HYDRAA alleges building was built on nala
Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) Commissioner AV Ranganath also visited the spot and alleged that the building was built on a nala.
“A building which has 7+1, almost 8-storey building was constructed in about 60 square yards of space. It came down this afternoon, and two bodies were retrieved. The building that came down was built on a nala, and I don’t think they would have gotten any permissions. The culprit, Sajid, is in the habit of constructing such unauthorised buildings. We’ll try to work out where all he has built such things,” he said while speaking to ANI.
He added that a special drive will be conducted in the area with cooperation from other departments, and all illegal structures will be demolished.
No other victims found yet
Deputy Commandant, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Damodhar Singh, told ANI that the top floor of the building fell onto the adjacent building, resulting in injury to one person. He was sent to the hospital.
The other floors collapsed vertically. Two bodies have been removed from the rubble, and after conducting searches using both canine units and cameras, no other victims have been found, he said.
Singh alleged that the building might have some structural defect that caused the collapse. “It was a new building; labourers were still working there,” he said.
Raja Singh demands murder cases against municipal officials
Meanwhile, Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh has demanded that a murder case be registered against municipal and town planning officials for allowing illegal structures to come up despite repeated complaints from residents.
He said that responsibility for the deaths should not be confined to the building owner alone but also corrupt officials who turn a blind eye to violations.
He urged the state government to take the collapse as a warning and initiate a comprehensive review of unauthorised constructions across Hyderabad.
Work resumed after four months
Cyberabad Municipal Commissioner G Srijana said that work had been stopped at the building for the past four months and had only begun a day before the accident.
“This was an unfortunate incident. This is illegal construction that had been seized around four months ago, but construction resumed yesterday, and the structure collapsed, resulting in the deaths of two workers. We are also assessing the structural damage to the adjacent apartment and have asked residents to vacate till the assessment is done,” she said, speaking to ANI.
“Other than this building, four or five illegal hostels have also come up in the area, and action will be taken against them. Anjaiah Nagar is infamous for illegal constructions. No work has been happening for the past four months. It only started yesterday, and the tragedy occurred before we could take action.” she said.
Case registered
Kukatpally Deputy Commissioner of Police Riti Raj said that a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered by Kukatpally Police against the landlord and the builder under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Efforts are underway to apprehend the accused, she said.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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