NEW DELHI: A portion of the parapet at the operation block of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi-run Hindu Rao Hospital fell amid the incessant rains the national capital experienced on Friday. No one was hurt during the incident.
However, four vehicles, including one car and three motorcycles, were reportedly damaged as debris from the parapet dropped over them. Officials said the weakened infrastructure of the building led to the collapse.
“The incident took place due to the weakened structure of the building caused by ageing. The officials have been put to work to fix the parapet at the earliest and to further investigate the incident. No other infrastructural damage has been recorded,” Amit Kumar, Director, Press and Information (P&I) of the civic body, stated.
Reacting to the incident, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak accused MCD of a callous attitude and said that the incident could have resulted in the loss of life and property.
“Who’d have taken responsibility had there been a loss of life? The building is so dilapidated that it could not withstand a long rainstorm. Because of the BJP’s corruption, incidents of some MCD building collapses occur on a daily basis, yet the BJP administration remains asleep,” he said.
“The hospital was occupied with too many patients and an incident of this magnitude could have resulted in a huge loss. The structure is in such a bad shape that the roof could also collapse any day,” Pathak added.
Meanwhile, the civic body hit back and accused the government of not providing the funds to carry out the maintenance works of the hospitals.
“MCD has not received timely grants from the government for the last 2 years, which are used for maintenance and upkeep of hospital buildings. Though MCD is trying its best to carry out necessary repair and maintenance work from its wafer-thin revenue, the release of funds by the government, which has been pending for the last two years, will certainly help in keeping the hospitals in good shape,” the MCD said.
“We hope that government will act sensitively in the matter and release the pending funds,” the civic body added.