The collapse of an illegal under-construction building in Kolkata's western fringes claiming at least nine lives and injuring 17 more early on Monday provoked a fierce political debate over whether the incident opened up yet another Pandora's box of corruption under the Trinamool Congress regime in Bengal.
Despite some 18 hours having passed since the collapse, several people were still believed to have remained trapped inside the rubble, triggering apprehensions of a further rise in the death toll, which kept mounting through the day. The deceased included two women who lived in the vicinity.
In the aftermath of the five-storey building, allegedly being constructed by filling up a water body, crumbling down on neighbourhood shanties occupied by unsuspecting dwellers in the thickly-populated Azhar Mollah Bagan area of Garden Reach, state Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the locality teemed with no less than 800 such unauthorised buildings.
Demanding a court-monitored audit by central bodies like the CPWD into constructions in urban areas of the state, Adhikari set a one-month deadline for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to publish the list of authorised and unathorised structures in its 141 wards.
"I will also file RTIs with the KMC secretary seeking details of such constructions and bring the details out in public domain," he declared.
While Md Wasim, the promoter of the building, was arrested, the investigation into the collapse was handed over to the homicide department of the city police. IPC sections pertaining to murder, attempt to murder and criminal negligence were slapped on the accused, the police said.
The building has been under construction since December 2022. It comprised 16 apartments, each of 500 square feet area, all of which were booked for sale, police so.
WATCH: Rescue operation is underway after 5-storey under-construction building collapses
"There are several builders involved in the project. We are on the lookout for the others," a senior officer said.
Meanwhile, a show-cause notice was issued by the KMC to three officers of the ranks of executive engineer, assistant engineer and sub-assistant engineer for their possible "oversight" of the illegal construction, a top civic body official told PTI.
"The officers have been asked to reply within the next 48 hours and stringent actions could be taken against them if their responses were found unsatisfactory," he said.
Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the collapse site and assured locals of stern action against the promoters of illegal real estate. She also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured.
"Sad to learn about the house collapse disaster of an under-construction building in the Garden Reach area of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Our Mayor, Fire Minister, Secretaries and Commissioner of Police, civic, police, fire and disaster management officers and teams (including NDRF, KMC and KP teams) have been on site throughout the night for mitigating the disaster," the chief minister wrote on X on Monday morning.
"The Opposition leaders, who are raising various questions in this regard, for them, I would say that politics can wait. We can do politics later, but at the moment we should focus on rescuing the people who are stuck. We hope that such incidents are not repeated. All institutions should work in tandem," he said.
The chief minister hoped that those trapped under the debris would be rescued soon.
"This is an illegal construction. I express my condolences to the family. I will urge the administration to take strict action against those involved in the illegal construction," she said after visiting the injured in a hospital.
This is Banerjee's first public appearance after she fell at her home and suffered injuries on Thursday evening. She also underwent stitches.
Banerjee with her bandaged forehead visited the building collapse site this morning.
She said the authorities should have been more vigilant when the illegal construction was going on.
Admitting that illegal constructions in the area were rampant, Hakim said, "It has been a trend here and also in some other areas since the Left Front era."
He also admitted that there could have been a "lapse on the part of the officials" for failing to monitor whether constructions in the locality were being made in accordance with law.
Hakim said, "It is not the job of the local councillor but of the civic body officials to inspect whether constructions are taking place according to sanctioned plans from Kolkata Municipal Corporation or not."
The chief minister, meanwhile, expressed her distress over the incident and urged the administration to take necessary action against those involved in the illegal construction.
"The government stands by the affected families," she said.
State fire and emergency services minister Sujit Bose said the rescue operations are underway on a war footing and those trapped under the debris would be brought out soon.
Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal visited the spot and took stock of the rescue operations.
According to locals, who were the first responders, concrete chunks fell from the building before it collapsed.
There was a loud sound and a thick cloud of dust engulfed the area as soon as the building collapsed. The debris fell on nearby shanties in the densely populated area, they said.
"Although no one lived in the under-construction building, it collapsed on the adjacent shanties. We fear that many individuals might still be trapped under the rubble," said a resident.
In a post on X last night, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said, "I urge @chief_west, Secretary @HomeBengal, @CPKolkata to immediately involve West Bengal State Disaster Management Team for immediate Rescue & Relief."
"I am receiving frantic calls regarding probable casualties. Please dispatch any team which can help in rescuing the victims, be it fire servicemen, police or any other team," he said.
Adhikari also shared pictures from the building collapse site.
