BENGALURU: Four workers were injured after the slab of a stormwater drain (SWD), on which they were standing, collapsed in Kalidasa Layout, near Srinagar, on Tuesday morning. While three workers -- Hasibul, Rehman Mondal and Shibu Pradad -- sustained bruises and were treated as outpatients, Mir Khasim (24) sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment in hospital. All four are from Kolkata.
The incident took place around 11am, when around eight labourers were engaged in construction of the SWD, about 30 feet above the ground. The four workers were standing on the slabs and concreting the roof. Meanwhile, other workers were dumping cement on the slabs, and allegedly overloaded them, causing the structure to collapse.
Vinod Kumar, an eyewitness, said the four workers fell from a height of around 30 feet. “The slabs fell as the metal used for roofing crashed and the workers fell on the ground. Only one of them lost consciousness while the other workers escaped with bruises,” he said.
Kumar and some other residents rushed to their help and entered the drain from the open side, to reach them. “While three of them managed to get up and move, we had to carry the fourth man. We made arrangements to shift him to hospital,” he said.
Rehman Mondal told TNIE they had come to Bengaluru about three months ago and were working at the same site since then. “We had stopped work due to the rain last week, and resumed it two or three days ago. The other workers poured cement on the slabs on which we were standing, and they went down,” he narrated.
BBMP Special Commissioner Tulasi Maddineni, who inspected the spot, said the BBMP Chief Commissioner has ordered an inquiry by the Technical Vigilance Cell under Commissioner (TVCC) into the incident. “The TVCC will collect samples of materials used in the construction to find out whether it was due to substandard work. The safety of the workers is the sole responsibility of the contractor. He will have to give an explanation, besides bearing the medical expenses of the injured, and reconstruction cost,” she said.
The 900-metre SWD was being constructed at a cost of Rs 9.7 crore. It is alleged that the contractor had not followed the standards of construction. “It is a 30-ft SWD and the retaining wall must be 1.5 feet wide. But it is just nine inches,” an official said.