At least seven people have lost their lives following the collapse of a boys’ PG in South West Delhi’s Satya Niketan area on Sunday.
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta visited the site of the incident and said rescue operations were underway on “war footing”. CM Gupta visited the site again on Monday and announced that strict action will be taken against officials found responsible for negligence.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government also ordered the immediate sealing of buildings with four-storeys and more. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) suspended five officials , including a deputy commissioner, from the South Zone.
MCD commissioner Sanjiv Khirwar told HT that officials have “zero tolerance” against unauthorised construction and that the building department will be made accountable in such cases.
Arpit had only recently returned to his PG accommodation after celebrating the Rakshabandhan holidays. “My son had just returned from our hometown after the Rakshabandhan holidays. The father added, “Everyone is telling us how bad the condition of the PG was. I would have never let him stay there. Meanwhile, another student, Yuvraj Soni, was identified by his friends. A second year student from Motilal College, Soni hailed from Chhattisgarh, and his family is yet to reach AIIMS for the final identification.
I wish my son had told me before. His sister, Nishi Soni, said the family is still in shock. One of his friends said Yuvraj, who was preparing to become a Chartered Accountant, had moved to the PG a few days ago. “Earlier he was living in North campus and was looking to move out of his old PG, and had just moved to the new one,” one of his friends, Aryan, said.
He had reached back to his PG yesterday morning, and the next time we saw is his dead body,” his father Bhupendra Jai said.
