In a tragic mishap on the evening of Friday, November 4, two people died after a 100-year-old building on NSC Bose road in Sowcarpet, identified by the Greater Chennai Corporation in 2014 as unsafe, collapsed. Fire service and police officials who rushed to the spot found that a woman, Kangudevi (60), trapped under the debris had lost her life.
Sankar (36), a resident of Nookkampalayam and a carpenter by profession who worked near the building and had sustained severe injuries in the mishap, passed away at the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital in the early hours of Saturday. Saravanan (34) of Madhavaram and Sivakumar (32) from Vyasarpadi also sustained minor injuries and were admitted to the hospital.
The building belonging to Rajendra Dass was in a dilapidated condition. The recent heavy rains seems to have made it more vulnerable and it collapsed around 06.30 pm on Friday. The people who were shopping in the outlets on the ground floor of the building were also affected by the accident.
PK Sekar Babu, Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, inspected the spot with ward members and police officials. He also called on the injured persons at the hospital. While addressing the press he said the building was identified as one of the unsafe buildings by the Greater Chennai Corporation in 2014. But the ground floor of the building was rented by the vendors who moved the court when they were asked to vacate the premises. "Government couldn't take any actions as the court order was in their favour," he said. He also said 66 buildings in the Harbour Assembly constituency are unsafe and that 96% of these buildings are unoccupied.
A resident of Pulianthope had died on Tuesday after a portion of the wall from the balcony of her house fell on her. In another incident, autorickshaw driver Devendran was electrocuted after he came into contact with a live wire in Vyasarpadi. The auto driver, according to onlookers, was in an inebriated state and was walking in knee-deep water when he came into contact with a pole attached to a live wire. According to the Commissionerate of Revenue Administration and Disaster Management, the state recorded a death toll of 23 due to heavy rains.
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