After 32 hours, another worker’s body recovered from debris

Kothagudem: After 32 hours of intensive rescue operations, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Singareni rescue teams have recovered the body of a construction worker from the rubble of a collapsed six-storey building.

At approximately 2.20 am, rescue teams located the body of Padishala Upender, 40, beneath the debris. The body was subsequently transported to the Government Hospital in Kothagudem for an autopsy. Rescue operations continue as authorities clear debris up to the first floor amid concerns that additional workers may be trapped underneath.

In a related development, police took the building owner, Sripathi Srinivas Rao, into custody for questioning. Sources reveal conflicting accounts regarding Rao’s activities. He is accused of illegally constructing five storeys on a structure that originally dated back 30 years without securing mandatory permissions from the Grama Panchayat.

Rao’s past has come under scrutiny. Formerly a Registered Medical Practitioner who left Bhadrachalam 15 years ago, he returned approximately four years back, claiming to have served as an archak at a Tirupati temple. He is also credited with building the Sri Durga temple in Bhadrachalam and was involved in collecting donations for a mutt construction project adjacent to the temple. Officials allege that Rao threatened punitive action, citing political backing, against those who demanded the demolition of the illegal construction.

Local resident Rammohan, from Bonalu Street, recalled hearing shouts during the collapse. Investigations suggest that Rao’s practice of dumping sand and bricks on a third-floor slab in preparation for wall construction on the overloaded structure may have precipitated the disaster.