HYDERABAD: Two men died while working on the fourth floor of an illegal under-construction building in Kukatpally on Saturday evening when a portion of the fifth floor collapsed on them. Three others working with them survived, with one of them receiving injuries.
GHMC officials said that there was only permission for stilt and two floors, and that the other floors were being constructed illegally, while the police said that sub-standard work resulted in the slab collapse.
The police identified the deceased as Daya Shankar and Anand. Kukatpally police inspector T. Narsing Rao said that 20 per cent of the front corner of the fifth floor collapsed, killing the duo on the spot.
“We came across discrepancies in the paperwork and will be taking statements from the workers before booking cases for death by negligence and other sections against owner Laxman Rao and the architect responsible,” Narsing Rao said.
Following the collapse, the GHMC-Kukatpally issued a notice stating that criminal proceedings would be initiated against Laxman Rao and his wife Patlori Padmaja, who were illegally constructing slabs on the third and fourth floors of the building.
A GHMC official said they had noticed the illegal construction on January 3 and issued a show-cause notice to the owners. “The building owners obtained permission for construction of stilt+2 floors on March 25, 2021. They were constructing the third and fourth floors without authorisation,” the official said.
“The building owners ignored the notice and commenced further construction on Friday. Due to the negligence in following safety measures, the slab collapsed,” the official said.
The official said that the GHMC would file a criminal case against the owner of the building and the site engineer.
