Negligence behind death of 5 workers

The collapse could have well been prevented had proper building norms been followed during construction

Negligence behind death of 5 workers

The collapse could have well been prevented had proper building norms been followed during construction

The wall collapse at CK Palya on bannerghatta Road, that killed 5 labourers yesterday could have been avoided if only norms were followed. A spot check by this reporter revealed that the 35-foot under-construction high wall was 9-inches thick and was supported on just a 3-foot foundation. Right after the incident, the police and fire brigade arrived at the spot and began rescuing trapped workers from the debris.

cutting corners: The owner and the supervisor absconded soon after
and police began attempts to bring them in for questioningu00a0 Lucky
survivors. Pic/Sanjay MD

The injured were shifted to Victoria Hospital and their condition is stated to be critical. One worker is still missing even as rescue teams are working against the clock to find him. All victims are from Bihar and have been working in the city for the past three months.

Quick response
Over 200 police personnel including the IGP and Bangalore rural SP, fire brigade personnel, government doctors and even Power Minister Shobha Karandlaje were present at the spot.

The dead have been identified as Puraga (40), Sriraju Potadar (60), Sanjeev (25), Raju (55) and Jugesh (40). While the list of injured included Sonu (35), Santosh (18), Paramanand (35), Nagarjun (21) and Jitu (25).

According to police present at the spot, the under-construction building belonged to ATB Company owned by K Shrinivas Reddy and was meant to be leased out to food processing units.

The reason for collapse has been blamed mainly on negligence on the part of the builders in failing to follow construction basics. Reddy, the owner, and Santosh, the supervisor absconded soon after and police began attempts to bring them in for questioning.

Nagarjun, a victim, said "The foundation could not have borne the weight of the structure. Another reason it could not sustain the weight was because the construction company had opted to use stone powder and cement instead of the safer sand and cement mix."

IGP Kamal Panth, said, "We arrived at the spot immediately and supervised the rescue operation and sent five of the injured to hospital.u00a0 We do not have much information about the company and construction. We have filed a case of negligence against the owner and builder who are presently absconding, but we will soon apprehend them."

35 feet Height of the wall that was supported on a 3-foot foundation, which caused it to crash.

Flouted Norms

>> Adequate curing should be allowed, but builder obviously ignored that fact
>> A 35-foot-high wall should have a 2 feet width pillar
>> Clean sand should be used in the construction, but builder apparently used sand and mud mixture
>> Steel reinforced concrete filler should be used in the foundation, which was entirely missing in the construction
>>Foundation should be constructed with cement, butu00a0 builder avoided using the right mixture and instead, used stone powder mix
>> Pillars should be errected every 20 feet for support
>>Good quality bricks should be used in the construction, but builder used substandard bricks