Magisterial inquiry ordered into Dharwad building collapse

Hubballi: Regional Commissioner Tushar Girinath, who is also the administrator of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC), has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the building collapse, which has claimed the lives of five so far and injured over 60 people.

At the site of accident on Wednesday, Mr Girinath said that the rescue operation is being carried out on a war footing and priority is being given to protect the lives of those trapped under the debris. “Over 100 Nation Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel are involved in the operation. Hopefully, those trapped under the debris will be brought out alive. There is news that 14 students are also trapped under the debris as they had come to the commercial complex for computer training,” he said.

He said that those involved in the substandard construction work will be brought to book. The HDMC has filed a complaint against the building owner and the engineer for faulty building design and for using substandard materials.

He said that samples of the debris are being collected and will be sent to a lab in Bengaluru to check the materials used to construct this building. The magisterial probe will also go into any lapses on the part of officials in allowing occupancy before the completion of the building. He said that the probe team will submit the report soon and based on the report, the government will initiate action.

The HDMC has announced Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for those critically injured. Apart from this, Rs 5,000 each is being given to the families o f the deceased to perform last rites.

The civic body will frame more stringent guidelines for buildings coming up in the twin cities, Mr Girinath said.