Nellore: Causing embarrassment to ruling party leaders and civic body engineers, part of an under construction roof of a market building at Santapeta in Nellore caved in on Monday.
The incident came at a time when opposition parties are raising a hue and cry over the quality of several development works, especially new roads, in progress in Nellore city, and placing TD bigwigs in a piquant situation.
According to municipal engineers, a new building is being constructed in place of the age old Santhapeta market in three blocks with 154 shop rooms at an estimated cost of Rs 5.6 crore.
The much publicised shear wall technology is being used for the buildings and the work is being executed by a reputed contract firm which is also building houses under the housing for all scheme for the poor in the Nellore region.
Reacting strongly, YSRC floor leader in the Nellore civic body P. Roopkumar Yadav came down heavily on Urban Development Minister P. Narayana, referring to his claims of best quality works by top contract firms in the state. He alleged that large scale corruption was taking place under the guise of development and the caving in of the slab was a testimony to the state of affairs. “What would have been the fate of shopkeepers and customers if the roof had collapsed after construction,” Mr Roopkumar asked, stressing that poor quality material is being used for construction. He alleged that the minister failed to take any corrective steps even after city legislator Dr
P. Anilkumar Yadav spoke about the substandard quality of roads being laid in the city where roads were damaged for underground drainage works.
Meanwhile, SE of Nellore Municipal Corporation, Ravi Krishnama Raju downplayed the incident on the plea that what caved in was a cantilever over a length of 15 feet.
He attributed this to the disturbed settlement of centering due to loose soil in the bottom.
He struck down the YSRC allegation of quality of metal, maintaining that they use only 12.5 mm metal for such buildings and not 20 mm as claimed by the YSRC leaders, who did not arrive in the airport soon.
