KOCHI: Alleging deep-rooted conspiracy by VK Ebrahim Kunju, MLA, in the collapse of the under-construction building of Cochin Cancer Centre (CCRC), RTI activist Gireesh Babu shot off a memorandum to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday. He alleged that the collapse was a pre-planned one.
“INKEL was given the contract of construction during Ebrahim Kunju’s tenure as PWD minister in the previous government. It is the same agency which built the Kannangattu bridge which was later closed for heavy vehicles for the poor quality of construction. Besides, the electricity in the area was cut off right after the collapse of the building,” he said.
The activist also demanded to cancel the current contract and hand it over to a new agency. “The contractor should be blacklisted and compensation should be sought from them,” he added.
Responding to the allegations, Ebrahim Kunju said, “The contract was handed over to INKEL by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). The previous government only laid the foundation stone of the project. These allegations are baseless. The MLAs who visited the site demanded to form an expert committee to probe the corruption charge. I hope KIIFB initiates steps to rectify the errors.”
The building, which is spread across 2,500 sq ft, collapsed on Monday night and five construction workers were admitted to Ernakulam Government Medical College Hospital with minor injuries.