NEW DELHI, December 4: In a repeat of the earlier incident, the remaining portion of the building under construction that collapsed at Gali Mir Jumla, near Lal Kuan in the walled city on December 2, collapsed at around 4.30 p.m. this evening. This time four MCD workers who were removing the dangerous portions and clearing the debris on the site were buried under it.The injured -- Ashish Pal, Mehar Chand, Dharam Pal and Ram Kumar from the MCD City Zone were rescued immediately and rushed to the LNJP Hospital, where they were declared out of danger. The Additional Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of the City Zone, along with the Engineer-in-chief are said to have rushed to the spot and later visited the injured in the hospital.
The Municipal Commissioner, V.K. Duggal, on his part, has issued strict instructions that the staff on demolition duty must be provided with adequate safety and that all demolitions and clearing operations must be supervised by an officer of at least the rank of Junior Engineer. And if required, the officers and labourers may be drawn from other zones.
Meanwhile, the residents of Gali Mir Jumla have expressed serious concern about the MCD's indifference regarding the demolition of the rest of the structure. They have threatened to shut down the market, sit on a dharna and even court mass arrest, if no decision is taken in this regard by 11.00 a.m. tomorrow.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.