Three daily wage workers die in Ghaziabad wall collapse

The district magistrate on Wednesday evening directed the city magistrate and two executive magistrates to conduct an inquiry into the matter. He has sought a report within 15 days

The boundary wall of a school near an under-construction drain collapsed in Pratap Vihar’s Sector 12 between 1am and 2am on Wednesday, killing three daily wage workers and injuring two, police said, adding they were yet to investigate why the incident took place.

Debris near an under-construction drain in Pratap Vihar’s Sector 12, where a wall collapsed between 1am and 2am on Wednesday, killing three daily wagers and injuring two. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Police identified the three deceased men as Athar Raza, 23, Taufeeq Alam, 21, and Mohammad Munkesh,19, and said the two other men are stable.

“The police immediately reached the spot and started the rescue operation along with the fire department. Three daily wage workers died at the spot while two were rushed to a hospital where they are stated to be stable. We have not received any complaint so far from the families of the victims. If a complaint is given, we will investigate accordingly,” said Nipun Agarwal, superintendent of police (city).

The district magistrate on Wednesday evening directed the city magistrate and two executive magistrates to conduct an inquiry into the matter. He has sought a report within 15 days.

The families of the victims, meanwhile, alleged that the men were forced to work late at night without any safety or precautions at the site and that an earthmoving machine hit the wall, causing it to collapse.

“There was no helmet or safety equipment provided to the daily wage workers. I have come to know that there was an earthmoving machine which hit the wall, because of which it collapsed. The driver of the machine fled after the incident,” alleged Inayat Raza, Athar’s brother.

However, neither the police nor the authorities have confirmed the allegation.

According to officials, the drain was being constructed by the Ghaziabad municipal corporation, which had awarded the contract for the work to M/s North India. However, the officials of the firm did not respond with comments over the issue despite repeated attempts.

The corporation’s chief engineer NK Chaudhary said, “The work was carried out late at night in order to avoid inconvenience to the school and students. The boundary wall of the school collapsed near the drain construction site because it was weak.”

The school authorities could not be reached for comments either.

“My brother was paid ₹1,000 for the night shift. It was his first shift at the site. We think the contractor is responsible for the incident. However, the contractor has paid us ₹4 lakh as compensation,” Inayat Raza said.

In the meantime, senior officials of the municipal corporation directed an inquiry into the incident and sought a report from the corporation’s chief engineer within three days.

“We directed the contractor to pay ₹4 lakh each to the families of the deceased. The corporation will also pay ₹1 lakh to each of the deceased’s families. The contractor has also been asked to compensate the injured daily wage workers and foot the bills of their treatment,” said MS Tanwar, Ghaziabad municipal commissioner.

“The contractor had obtained an extension of one month on the construction as the deadline was the end of March,” Tanwar added.