Noida wall collapse: ‘Bystanders were taking videos instead of helping those trapped’

There were 12 people hired to clean and repair the drain when the wall collapsed on them. Ten of them belonged to Badaun district, about 230km from Noida, while two belonged to Sambhal district, about 150km from the city. Among the four dead were two minors, aged 15 and 17 years, said officials

“Those standing near the drain were busy shooting videos on their phones even as they watched a few trying to help the workers trapped under the debris,” said an eyewitness to the wall collapse incident in Noida’s Sector 21 on Tuesday morning that led to the death of four persons.

Rescue operation underway at Sector 21 in Noida on Tuesday. (Sunil Ghosh/ HT)

Ruksana Ahmed, a resident of Sector 8, who was returning from her night shift at a private firm, said, “I saw people running and yelling for help. A large crowd had gathered by the drain but there were only a few people helping rescue the trapped workers; the others stood by taking videos on their phones. I rushed there and started removing the debris by hand.”

Raghuveer, a cab driver who lives across the road in Sector 20, said, “I was cleaning my car when I heard the screams from across the road. I rushed there and found several people trapped under the debris. I called on 108 for an ambulance while other locals dialled the police.”

There were 12 people hired to clean and repair the drain when the wall collapsed on them. Ten of them belonged to Badaun district, about 230km from Noida, while two belonged to Sambhal district, about 150km from the city. Among the four dead were two minors, aged 15 and 17 years, said officials.

The drain repair work started on September 15, said injured worker Sanjeev Singh (28), a resident of Vicholna village in Badaun, who lost his brother and nephew to the wall collapse.

“We came to Noida on September 14 and were staying at the labour contractor’s home in Ashok Nagar. We used to report to duty at 9am daily and leave by 5pm. On Saturday, the bricks of the boundary wall started coming apart after which the contractor got a earthmover to take them away,” he said.

On Tuesday, too, workers told the contractor that the foundation bricks of the wall were loose and the structure had started tilting.

“We told him that there was a risk of the wall crumbling, but he did not pay heed. Instead, he told us he will cut our wages if we ”made excuses” to not work. Afraid of losing our wages of ₹300-500 a day, we continued to work. Who knew that we would pay a much heavier price before the day was done,” said Singh.

His nephew Amit Yadav (17) and brother Pushpendra Singh (25) were among the four workers who were killed.

“Amit was pursuing BA from a private college in Badaun and came to Noida on Sunday along with Pushpendra. He had an older sister, two younger sisters and a younger brother to take care of -- his father died earlier this year. He was under pressure to earn,” said Sanjeev.

He said he has not told Pushpendra’s wife about his death as yet. “Pushpendra leaves behind his wife with four infant children. I spoke to her over the phone on Tuesday but couldn’t bring myself to tell her that her husband dead. I only told her that Pushpendra was injured,” said Sanjeev.

The youngest of the 12 workers was 15-year-old Dharamveer who also died in the wall collapse. A resident of Saung village in Sambhal district, he had joined his uncle Rishipal Singh (28) at the work site last week to earn some money.

Dharamveer is survived by his parents and two younger sisters.

“Dharamveer was being paid ₹300 while I was being paid ₹500 a day for the work. Dharamveer’s father, my brother, is bedridden. This was why Dharamveer was doing part-time jobs to put food on his family’s plate. He was in Class 12 and had taken up the work as it was only for 20 days. None of us imagined that we would lose our beloved child,” said Rishipal, who sustained minor injuries in the wall collapse.

When asked why the family had allowed a young boy to do manual labour, he replied, “He was the last resort of a poor family to survive. What else could they have done?”

Dhoom Singh (43) came from Indirapuram to Noida after getting news that his cousin, Pannalal (25), had died in the wall collapse. “I was not aware that Pannalal had taken up work in Noida. I got a call from his father from Badaun informing us about the mishap and I rushed there. I was told Pannalal was injured but I reached there to hear that he died,” said Singh, a vegetable vendor.

Pannalal is survived by his parents, three sisters and two brothers, who are also daily wagers in Badaun. “Pannalal was the eldest of his family and the burden of earning more was on him,” said Singh.

The relatives of the deceased left for their home towns on Tuesday evening after the police handed over the bodies after autopsies.