Jalvayu Vihar wall collapse in Noida: ‘No safety steps for repairs’

NOIDA: The construction agency did not make the necessary safety arrangements before starting repair work on a drain adjacent to the wall that collapsed in Jalvayu Vihar last September, killing four workers, a committee formed to probe the incident has concluded.
Noida Authority officials said on Sunday that the committee, comprising additional CEOs Manvendra Singh and Praveen Mishra (now transferred out), officer on special duty Indu Prakash Singh and an official from the planning department, submitted its report to the authority on January 6.
“The panel pointed out some inadequacies. For instance, the agency started repair work without informing work circle officials. Two days before the collapse, the agency had also asked the authority to remove some trees in the way, but it still began work,” an official said.
“Similarly, the society wall was built 25 years ago, and the agency took no measures to support it before starting work on the drain next to it. Starting work in the monsoon was also a wrong step,” the official said.
Four labourers were killed after a portion of the wall collapsed on September 20 last year. At the time, the probe committee suspected that the wall of the Sector 21 colony may have weakened over the years. It was also investigating rain the night before could have precipitated the fall, TOI had reported.
The official cited above said the report also raised questions about how the Authority had monitored the work. The panel has been asked to give names of the officials to be held accountable.
Two of the three people named in the FIR – contractors Gul Mohammad and Sundar Yadav – are under custody. The third accused is absconding.