HYDERABAD: Admitting that some lower rung staff in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) are turning a blind eye to the blatant violation of building construction rules, Minister for Municipal Administration (MAUD), K T Rama Rao said the government will take stern action against corrupt staff of the town planning department.
A special committee, headed by MAUD secretary Navin Mittal, has been constituted to examine the construction activity in the city and identify violations and illegal structures and suggest systemic improvements to avoid such incidents in future. The minister attributed the building collapse to the connivance of corrupt officials and builders who use sub-standard material for construction.
Admitting that town planning staff in the GHMC are not monitoring the illegal construction activity going on in the city, KTR said corrupt staff would not spared even if they were ministers or their family members.
The minister who came to monitor the rescue operations in the light of the collapse of a multi-storied building at Nanakramguda on Thursday expressed his strong displeasure at the lackadaisical attitude of the civic officials and that the state government will act tough against errant builders once the report is submitted.
KTR announced `10 lakh to the kin of deceased, `1 lakh to the injured along with medical care and announced the suspension of deputy municipal commissioner Manohar and Town Planning ACP Krishna Mohan of Circle 11 for the mishap. The building did not have permission from the GHMC.
“The state government had launched a major drive against illegal constructions from this year and even in case of the Filmnagar Club Arch collapse, the government has refused to allow the club to reopen.
However, the club management approached the court and obtained a stay order. Apart from this, 1,800 encroachments on open nalas in GHMC limits have been demolished and 1,000 dilapidated buildings razed to the ground,” KTR informed.
Oppn seeks KTR’s resignation
Opposition parties slammed the State government on Friday for the building collapse. Both the Congress and the TDP sought the resignation of municipal administration minister KT Rama Rao from the state cabinet for the dreadful incident. TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the TRS had failed to fulfil the assurances made by it during the elections. Meanwhile, TDP TS unit working president A Revanth Reddy too cornered the government over the issue. “Several buildings have collapsed in the past six months in Hyderabad,” he said and demanded that KTR resign from his post morally over the fateful mishap.
BLEAK signs of more survivors: NDRF
There are bleak chances of any more survivors post the collapse, Kuldeep Singh, deputy commandant, NDRF, said. Two sophisticated equipments were used to locate those trapped, besides sending sniffer dogs into the building. Victim Locating Camera and Live Detector equipments, both capable of detecting the slightest of chest movements produced by breathing, were used. The NDRF teams scanned the entire area for bodies and anyone alive amid but there was no response. A woman and child were rescued early morning by detecting their cries.
‘Victims saved as they were lean’
While it was the sophesticated technology that helped rescue of Rekha (25) and her son Deepak (3), NDRF team said it was because they were lean that they could be saved. They lived in the cellar of the building and were found to be stuck under narrow space between collapsed pillar and ground. As per the doctors at Continental Hospital, there is no threat to the Rekha’s life is suffering from hip bone fracture and her son is injured in head. Two persons- a housewife and a boy, have been rescued and eight bodies have been recovered. Four among the dead have been identified as Pydamma (47), Gowreeshwari (18), Venkata Lakshmi (40) and Sambaiah (40).
Inputs from: S Bachan Jeet Singh,K Shiva Shanker and Rajitha S