CHENNAI: A BE graduate who started working as a construction labour because he could not get a job for a year was killed on Wednesday as a set of prefabricated slabs collapsed at a construction site of an upcoming restaurant at East Spur Tank Road at Chetpet. He was one of two killed in the mishap.
The 23-year-old Gunasekaran had completed BE in Electronics and Communication Engineering from EGS Pillay Engineering College at Nagapattinam last September, when he cleared all his arrears. He came to Chennai only in March to attend interviews and started working in the construction site along with his uncle J Senthil Kumar.
“I was working as an electrician at the GPA construction agency and I thought it would good for him to come to Chennai and search for jobs here. He started working with me in the construction site and even recently attended an interview in a software company at Pallavaram," said Senthil Kumar, who was waiting at the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital where Gunasekaran's body was taken for autopsy. He had advised Gunasekaran to come to Chennai, since the latter was unable to get a job in his native Tiruvarur. But, on Wednesday, he was feeling guilty whether it was his advice that killed Gunasekaran. Senthil Kumar was saved because he was away to have lunch and was just returning to the site when he heard the loud thud.
The second victim of the mishap was Pandala Raja (22) native of Ariyalur, who was working as a construction labourer in Chennai for a year. Two others have been injured.
The accident took place around 4 pm when a total of 43 workers were present at the construction site. A group of them were trying to put together a set of prefabricated slabs in the three-storey building.
“The slab suddenly collapsed once it was placed, so clearly the base was not secure,” said Appanasamy, a building supervisor. He claimed that a loose screw used to fasten slabs together could have caused the accident.
The workers got trapped beneath the huge slabs. “We were able to rescue a few workers at the extremities but the bodies were recovered only by the fire department,” said Appanasamy.
Shahul Hameed, the joint director of Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, said it will be verified whether proper permits for the three-story building, which will house a restaurant, have been obtained.
The slabs are said to be being fixed on the third floor when they suddenly collapsed and Gunasekaran was said to be in the top floor. He was thrown down and buried under the debris. As the ambulance was taking time to reach, a neighbour took him in her car to the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital where he died within a few minutes.
The injured persons were identified as S Arul (22) from Villupuram who sustained severe head injury and was admitted at the ICU in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and P Mani (23) from Cuddalore who suffered right leg fracture and jaw break was admitted at the KMC.
Venkatesan, who was working as supervisor at the site, told the Express, “There were a total of 43 workers at the site. Four of them were involved in placing the slabs."
“The construction of a shopping complex was taken charge by two private construction agencies - VME and GPA. They received permission for four floors (slit + three floors as per display at the site) from the CMDA for constructing in a new method called ‘free-cost’ in which ready-made slabs and pillars are used,” said a revenue department officer at the spot.
When Express visited the site it found that none of the workers were wearing hard hats and lead lined boots which are compulsory at construction sites. Most of the workers are from central India and weren’t even wearing shoes. Safety harnesses also seemed to be missing at the site where work is going on in the third floor.
“A case should be filed against the company for proper compensation and we will also file a petition in a court on Thursday,” said deceased Gunasekaran’s brother Rajesh
(With inputs from Samuel Merigala)