Five devotees killed after part of house collapses in Vrindavan

Five devotees, including three women, were killed and several others injured when a part of a dilapidated house collapsed in Vrindavan town. The Chief Minister has declared compensation for the deceased and a committee has been formed to survey other at-risk buildings in the area.

Five devotees, including three women, were killed and half a dozen others were injured when a part of a dilapidated house collapsed in Vrindavan town on Tuesday late evening.

Debris of the house being removed after the tragic incident in Vrindavan on Tuesday. (HT)

The tragic incident happened 200 metres away from the renowned Bankey Behari Temple near Radha Sneh Temple in Dusayat Mohalla. The devotees were passing underneath the house when a part of it collapsed.

The deceased have been identified as Geeta Kashyap, 50, Rashmi Gupta, 40, and Arvind Kumar, 35, all three from Kanpur; and Anju Murgai from Virandavan. The identity of one person has not been ascertained till now.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the incident and declared a compensation of ₹4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. He has further directed the officials in Mathura district to ensure proper treatment to the injured.

Following the incident, on Wednesday, district magistrate Mathura Pulkit Khare constituted a committee to survey the houses that are in poor condition in Vrindavan town.

“A committee has been constituted to survey the buildings and houses in bad shape and that might collapse. Additional municipal commissioner Kanti Shekhar Singh, deputy collector Ritu Sirohi, deputy collector Rajkumar Bhaskar, special executive officer at Mathura Vrindavan development authority Prasoon Dwivedi and chief engineer Mathura Vrindavan Nagar Nigam will be the members of the committee,” said the DM Mathura.

“The committee will survey houses that face risk of collapse in ward No. 67, 69, and 70 from where the devotees move. Immediate action will be taken about such houses, and it will be further probed if there is any violation of norms,” stated the DM.

Besides, a three-member committee was constituted to carry out physical examination of the spot where tragedy occurred on Tuesday. It will give its report within a week. The ADM (administration), executive engineer from PWD and circle officer (Sadar) are the members, said the DM.