2 killed in Film Nagar slab collapse

Hyderabad: Two labourers were killed and at least 10 others were injured when the slab of an under construction two storied building collapsed in Film Nagar area here. "

The tragedy happened when a two-storey building was being constructed at Film Nagar Cultural Centre. The club is frequented by bureaucrats and film industry personalities.

The slab suddenly broke down and fell on the workers.At least 12 labourers were working when the slab collapsed and two of them were buried alive," according to police. The mishap occurred around 11 am.

NDRF and police personnel were engaged in rescue and relief works and removing debris from the spot and trying to find out if anyone was still trapped underneath the collapsed slab.

The deceased were identified as Anand and A Shaikh (both aged between 28 to 36). Meanwhile, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao expressed his shock over the incident and offered condolences to the family members of the deceased. He directed the authorities to provide better treatment to the injured, a release from Chief Minister's office said.

The deceased persons have been identified as Manthesha (29) of Raichur in Karnataka and Anisur Shaik (32) of Murshidabad district in West Bengal.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials attributed the tragedy to the failure on the part of the builders to follow minimum standards of construction and use of quality material.

The club did not seek permission to construct extension to the portico and also had taken up work on the same pillars used for the portico, the officials said.

In a hurry to finish the works, the contractor had started the works at 12.30 am on Sunday and before the pillars got toughened, the construction work on the slab began Sunday morning. At 11 am, when they were loading the 37th load of concrete mixture, pillars of the portico collapsed, resulting in the death of two workers.

Personnel from police, fire services, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and National Disaster Response Force rushed to the spot to rescue labourers trapped under the debris.

Some of workers managed to escape with injuries. They include Monappa Shiva (31), Kondi Mallesham (25), Saheb Mandal (20), Koteshwar Rao (34), Sitaram (40), Ajit Biswas (24), Tippanna Veerappa (24) and Ashok (35).

The injured were immediately rushed to the Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills. Six of the injured were discharged after first aid and others were admitted in Intensive Care Unit.

Doctors at Apollo Hospital said the condition of the injured persons was stable.Reacting on the incident, GHMC Commissioner B Janardhan Reddy said, “No permission was given to construct the building.

The ownership of the land is under dispute and a case is pending in the court. The JNTU has also been requested to check the structural stability of the remaining building.”

City police Commissioner M Mahender Reddy said, “The incident is unfortunate. We learnt that the incident occurred at 11 am.”
In reply to a query, the Police Commissioner said, “We are investigating reasons for the collapse. If violations and negligence are found to be reason, nobody will be spared.”

A case has been booked against Film Nagar Cultural Centre Chairman K S Rama Rao, Secretary Raja Shekar Reddy, engineer Sudhakar Rao, contractor Konda Rao and others under section 304 (A), 337 and 338 of IPC by the Jubilee Hills police basing on a complaint by GHMC Zonal Commissioner Gourav Uppal.

The GHMC officials have sealed the club and have begun an enquiry into the stability of the structure.Hyderabad Mayor Bonthu Rammohan announced Rs 2 lakh and the private club (FNCC) offered Rs 5 lakh as ex gratia to families of the deceased persons and promised a permanent job to a member of the deceased person’s family at FNCC.

By:Jayendra Chaithanya