Mamta announces exgratia for victims
Sreekanth A. Nair
A day after the collapse of an under-construction flyover in the Bara Bazaar area in the heart of the Kolkata city that killed 24 people and injuring over 70, the state government and the opposition has started a blame game on each other.
The construction work of the bridge started in 2009 and was scheduled for completion in 2010. But, the work continued at a snail pace missing the deadline nine times. There are also reports that the construction company named IVRCL based in Hyderabad is a blacklisted firm.
The rescue operations to recover people trapped under the debris continue as Indian Army, National Disaster Relief Force, disaster management group, police, and civil defense personnel engage in cutting through massive metal blocks.
The Kolkata police, on Thursday, sealed the local office of IVRCL and a case has been registered against it under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), and 407 (criminal breach of trust by career etc.)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee who was visiting one of the constituencies that goes for polling on April 4, cancelled her trip after coming to know about the tragedy and rushed to the spot. She also announced an exgratia of $7353 (Rs 5 lakh) to the relative of the deceased, $2941(RS 2 lakh) for severely injured and $1470 (1 lakh) for people who are admitted to the hospital with minor injuries.
Before leaving the accident scene, Mamta sparked a controversy by putting the buck of the accident on the CPI(M). She said, “the construction began during the time of CPI(M) and not during the Trinamool. It’s not the time for politics; our efforts should be to save the lives of people.”
She also said that stringent action will be taken against the culprits.
Recently, the Trinamool Congress-led government in West Bengal was hard hit by allegations of corruption such as Sharada Scam and Narada tapes that had footages of Trinamool leaders accepting bribes.
In the meanwhile, the higher officials of the construction company reacted to the tragedy saying it as nothing “but a god’s act.” They also denied speculations that the poor quality materials used were the reason for the collapse of the bridge.
They also added that the construction lagged because the state government failed to acquire and hand over the land for construction.
India Today reported that ahead of the state assembly election, Mamta Banerjee had promised the people that the construction of the bridge would be completed before the completion of her tenure. Residents living near the accident spot were also reported by India Today saying the construction work was in full swing, day and night, in the past two days.
The authorities have now confirmed that the chances of finding people alive under the debris are dim even as rescue operations using sensors have revealed that there are no more bodies under the heavy concrete.
Ashok Bhattacharya, the Urban Development Minister in the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government, was quoted by Times of India saying, “as the CM had claimed, the tendering was done, a company selected through competitive bidding and project awarded during the left era. Thereafter, only some piling work had been done till the change of government. The construction happened in the past five years when the Trinamool Congress government was in power. I heard the CM claim the government would inaugurate the flyover before the elections. So who is responsible for this tragedy? I heard the section that was cast on Wednesday night collapsed. It appears engineering and quality were compromised.”
Congress spokesperson PC Chacko, on Thursday, said: “the bridge collapse is not an act of god.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is currently in Washington attending nuclear security summit, tweeted, “My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in Kolkata. May the injured recover at the earliest.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXjb9f2dITg