The Hindu 10.09.2014
Building collapse: Municipal Engineer, overseer suspended
Three labourers were killed in the accident
The Regional Director for Municipal Administration has
placed under suspension the engineer and the overseer of Shencottah
municipality in connection with the recent building collapse in which
three labourers were killed on the spot.
When the
first floor of a 35-year-old commercial complex of the municipality was
being demolished by a team of 14 labourers on Saturday (September 6) as
the urban local body had planned to construct a new edifice in the
place, the structure suddenly crashed killing N. Muthukumar (27), K.
Rajkumar (30) and K. Ganapathi alias Balaiah (29), all from Kathiravan
Colony near Shencottah.
Four more labourers sustained injuries in the accident and were rushed to the Tenkasi Government Hospital.
Alleging
that the three were killed as no precautionary measure was taken and no
modern machinery was given to them, a group of people and the relatives
of the deceased staged a road roko near the accident site. They also
demanded adequate compensation for the victims’ families.
Since
the agitation was staged on the Tirunelveli–Kollam Main Road, hundreds
of vehicles lined up on both sides for over five hours since 5.30 p.m.
As
the Shencottah municipality and the police officials could not resolve
the crisis even after 9 p.m., Superintendent of Police (in-charge) T.P.
Sureshkumar rushed to the spot with additional police force.
Accepting
Mr. Sureshkumar’s assurance that their demand for Rs.8 lakh as
compensation and a government job to the family of each of the deceased
would be forwarded to the government, the protestors allowed the police
to send the bodies for post-mortem.
Against this
backdrop, Regional Director for Municipal Administration M. Seeni Ajmal
Khan after enquiries placed under suspension Engineer of Shencottah
Municipality K. Ramesh and Overseer Anantharamakrishnan on Tuesday.