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Bengal

Shed collapses at Shalimar rail yard

Kolkata: Four labourers were injured and one died after a portion of an under-construction shed in Shalimar rail yard collapsed during construction work on Monday afternoon.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee got the news while inaugurating a Durga Puja in the city and alleged that the incident happened because of negligence on the part of railways. She also stated that railways must help the injured persons and the family of the deceased.

According to sources, Indian Railway Construction Company Limited (IRCON) is upgrading the Shalimar railway station and yard as a development project. As a part of the project, construction of a platform shed was going on outside the passenger area.

At 3 pm on Monday, a portion of an under-construction concrete shed collapsed on the labourers working there. As the shed hit an Over Head Equipment (OHE) post, the overhead wire tore and fell on a labourer.

As a result, the labourer who was later identified as Dukha Chaupal, was electrocuted, while four other labourers who were working there received serious injuries.

It has been alleged that South Eastern Railway (SER) authorities were late in starting rescue operation. However, after a while, all five labourers were rescued and rushed to Howrah State General Hospital, where Chaupal was declared brought dead. The others are undergoing treatment there.

According to the labourers, no safety measures were adopted by the contractor who was given the work by IRCON. When SER officials reached the spot after nearly 30 minutes, they faced agitation by other labourers. Meanwhile, the ward master of the rail yard was beaten up badly by the agitated labourers, alleging negligence.

State Cooperation minister Arup Roy went to the spot at around 4 pm and said: "The state government will help the injured persons as well as the family of the deceased. It is the result of negligence by the SER."

Meanwhile, fire brigade was informed to conduct rescue operation from under the collapsed portion. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was also called in. After searching the collapsed portion with sophisticated equipments and scanners, the NDRF team declared that no one else was trapped under the debris.

According to an SER spokesperson, General Manager of SER Sanjay Kumar Mohanty has ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident. "A high-level inquiry committee has been formed by the GM, consisting of multidisciplinary officers," said the spokesperson.

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