UoH slab collapse: Gachibowli police register case against contractor
Even though eight workers have been discharged from hospital, one was undergoing treatment on Friday.
Hyderabad: Gachibowli police registered a case against the contractor based on a complaint given by the University of Hyderabad after a slab of an under-construction building in the campus collapsed.
According to police, the contractor SK Akbar represents SA Infra Projects.
Nine workers trapped under the debris were rescued after a four-hour joint operation by Gachibowli police, DRF, and fire department personnel on Thursday evening.
Even though eight workers have been discharged from hospital, one was undergoing treatment on Friday.
Describing his ordeal, a worker, Younus Shaikh, said, “I do not remember even a bit of what happened after the collapse as we were all trapped. The slab was ready. The only scaffolding that was left could not bear the weight of the entire slab.”
Central Public works Department (CPWD) supervisor M. Subramaniam, told Deccan Chronicle, “It was last-minute negligence. It was an unfortunate incident,”
Incidentally, this was the third such incident in the university, In 2010, a slab of the under-construction life sciences building collapsed. The second incident occurred in 2014, when a portico of the under-construction Zakir Hussain lecture hall caved in. While during the first collapse, the project was with Ramky, the second project was given to CPWD, which is also handling construction of the administration building.
Meanwhile, SFI-HCU president Lenin said, “These collapses expose the corruption involved in the construction works. What came as a shocking revelation is that one of the injured is a minor. The varsity officials did not pay heed when we pointed out this blunder. ”
Workers and their families residing in the campus alleged that rings for the slab were not provided despite repeated requests.
Gachibowli police denied reports of cases being registered in this regard as they had not received any complaints.
In a press release, the university said, “An unfortunate incident occurred on the night of February 27 at a construction site within the campus. The temporary support structure of the portico of the under-construction building collapsed, injuring eleven construction workers. The University administration immediately swung into action and alerted police, fire, NDRF and CPWD officials. The construction of the building was entrusted to CPWD.”
Meanwhile, officials from CPWD said “While finishing the portico work, an accidental contact between the boom pump -- used for transferring liquid concrete onto the slab -- and the scaffolding resulted in the collapse of the support structure leading to the accident".
The university administration is in the process of filing a separate complaint with the police into the incident. By March 3, they will constitute a committee to probe the circumstances that led to the incident.