KOCHI:The 15 migrant labourers engaged in the construction of a sewer for the Corporation at the Market Road here escaped by the skin of their teeth when a portion of the abandoned school building, where they were housed, came down on Wednesday evening.
A major tragedy was averted since the workers were outside the building at the time of the collapse as they were engaged in the construction work. The decrepit structure was also being used to store construction equipment.
According to the people it was around 4.35 pm, the masonry fell down with a deafening noise. " As many as 15 workers used the space to stay and take rest after finishing the day's work. Since there was a lull in the monsoon showers lashing the city at the time of the incident, all of them were at the construction site. Otherwise, it would have been a disaster of epic proportions," said Radhakrishnan, a CITU worker, who visited the building barely hours before it came down.
Interestingly. people said the building's owner allowed the Corporation to use the space for storing construction equipment after the civic body approached him ." How can they accommodate the migrant workers in such a dilapidated building? Since it was several decades-old, the concrete and the roof of the building had deteriorated. The lashing rain inflicted more damage on the concrete roof. It is really an irresponsible act by the contractor, building owner and the Corporation. If any untoward incident happened they will have to take responsibility. Fortunately, all of them were outside the building," said a shop owner at the Market junction.
However, the contractor and the building owner denied putting up the migrant workers inside the dilapidated building. Despite the denials, Express found cooking utensils, coat, fan and other belongings of the migrant workers near the collapsed buildings. Besides, the workers disclosed the contractor indeed housed them there.
"The school was never used to accommodate the workers. Only the construction equipment was stored there. The workers used the space only during the breaks," said the contractor. Mayor Soumini Jain, who visited the scene, told Express the contractors were explicitly told not to house the workers in such rundown buildings."Not just this building, there are several other buildings, including heritage structures, which are on the brink of collapse. Since the Corporation has no right over such buildings we are helpless in ensuring their upkeep. The government should initiate steps to carry out the maintenance of such buildings or hand over the buildings to the Corporation," she said.