Five workers fall to death from tenth floor of under-construction building in Telangana

HYDERABAD: Four migrant labourers and an employee of the construction firm died after they fell from the 10th floor of an under-construction building at Rampally village under Keesara police station limits here on Thursday.

The deceased were identified as Saiful Haq (27), Abhijit Roy (19), Subal Roy (33) and Milan Shaikh (21), all construction workers and Yash Kumar Chowdary (21), crane signal man.  Biplab Roy (26),  who also fell suffered severe injuries and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

The incident occurred when the construction work of houses under the Telangana government’s double bedroom housing project at Rampally village was underway, police said.

The workers  were working on a platform fixed between two blocks on the tenth floor when the mishap took place. In the process of removing the platform, alleged miscommunication between the workers could have led to the mishap, suspect police. A case of causing of death due to negligence (304A IPC) was booked against the construction company.

Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said basing on prima facie evidence, a case has been registered against the company. “ We are in the process of collecting pieces of evidence from the workers. Based on them, the investigation will proceed. All those who will be responsible will face action.” he said.

According to GHMC officials, the project at Rampally village is being executed by DEC Infrastructure & Projects (India) Private Limited. The project comprises 52 towers, accommodating 120 flats in each block, with a total of 6,240 flats.

In the tenth floor of Tower No 12, a working platform was set up  between towers 12 & 13, for facilitating movement of workers and equipment. This platform was fixed to the walls through tie-rods. Meanwhile, the de-shuttering process of the centring material was taken up on Thursday morning.

At that time, six workers were standing on the platform and doing the work. The centring shutter is hooked to a tower crane and as per the indications from the signalman, the crane operator pulled up the shutter. In this process, when the shutter which is over one tonne was being hauled up, due to some communication gap, the platform came off and as a result, the shutter landed on the platform with its full weight. The platform together with workers and the signalman crashed to the ground.

K Dharmareddy,  deputy executive engineer,  GHMC,  said he had visited the site on Wednesday and inspected the works also. “I have given some instructions also and everything was going on well as per schedule. But some miscommunication had led to the mishap and it is being investigated into,” he said.
As per the schedule, the project which started an year ago, should have been completed and handed over to the government by July this year. The same contractor is handling two other 2BHK houses at Kollur in Rangareddy district and Ahmedguda in Medchal district.

Explaining structural soundness of the towers, Dharmareddy said that sharewall technology is used in construction, which does not need columns. “ This is a robust technology available now. Each wall can take load like a columns, making the entire structure doubly strong.” he said. Medchal MLA Ch Mallareddy visited the spot and inquired about the mishap.

Rs 15 lakh compensation for kin of deceased

GHMC on Thursday announced Rs 15 lakh each to the families of the five workers who died after falling from the tenth floor of a building at Rampally village.  Of the Rs 15 lakh, Rs 2 lakh would be providied from Mayor’s relief fund, Rs 5 lakh on behalf of the contractor who is constructing the houses and the remaining Rs 8 lakh from the labour department. Meanwhile, GHMC commissioner M Dana Kishore suspended an assistant engineer S Narsaraju for dereliction of duties. The AE failed to monitor the housing works that lead to the incident.