Kolkata: The death toll in the Garden Reach tragedy increased to 12 with another victim dying at the hospital on Saturday while the Kolkata Police is learnt to have sought the help of experts from Jadavpur University to ascertain the cause of collapse of the under construction building which was being built illegally.
It was learnt that Mariam Bibi (85) was under treatment at the SSKM Hospital after being rescued following the collapse of the under construction building at Garden Reach’s Azar Mollah Bagan area. On Saturday, the woman, who was in the ICU, is learnt to have died.
Several families were affected when the building collapsed on the adjacent shanties. The Calcutta High Court recently directed the state government to file a report in the form of an affidavit concerning the remedial measures taken by the state to rehabilitate people affected on account of collapse of the under construction building in Garden Reach. The Chief Justice of the court, T S Sivagnanam directed: “The state shall endeavour to rehabilitate those persons displaced and provide them necessary shelter and support them with adequate ration material so that they are able to take care of themselves.”
Kolkata Police has reportedly sought the help of experts from Jadavpur University to ascertain the cause of collapse of the building. It was learnt that the expert team has already started their work. The police is learnt to have asked Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to temporarily stop its work of shifting the debris for the same. The KMC too have formed their own team to ascertain the cause of collapse.
Meanwhile, the KMC is likely to initiate departmental inquiry against three engineers in Borough-15 engaged with the Building department. Following the collapse, the civic body had asked Borough-15’s executive engineer, assistant engineer and sub-assistant engineer to show cause in 48 hours as to why they did not report the illegal construction to the KMC Building department’s director general.
Sources said that the Building department is not content with the replies of the three engineers who have allegedly failed to explain their responsibility relating to the building collapse. Hence, it is likely that soon a departmental inquiry will begin and disciplinary action will be taken accordingly. KMC had earlier transferred four engineers from the Building department to other departments.