India
oi-Madhuri Adnal
At least seven people have lost their lives after a boys’ paying guest (PG) accommodation collapsed in South West Delhi’s Satya Niketan area on Sunday.
As rescue teams continued their search through the rubble for a second day on Monday, the tragedy began to take a more personal toll on families waiting outside AIIMS, Delhi. The hospital has so far identified five of those who died in the collapse.
A boys’ PG accommodation collapse in Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Sunday killed at least seven people. Following the incident, Delhi authorities vowed action against officials, ordered sealing of buildings with four or more storeys, and suspended five municipal employees.
One of the victims was Akshat Yadav from Katni, Madhya Pradesh. A second-year B.Com student at PDGDAV College, University of Delhi, Yadav was among those trapped in the building. His family received his body after the postmortem on Monday.
Pawan Nath, a first-year B.Sc student from Oraiya, Uttar Pradesh, was one of them. His family collected his body after the postmortem.
Another Motilal Nehru College student, Abhishek Kumar, from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, also died in the collapse.
For 18-year-old Arpit Jai’s family, the tragedy came just days after they had sent him back to Delhi following the Rakshabandhan holidays. A native of Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, Arpit had only recently returned to his PG.
His father, Bhupendra Jai, said the family had seen their son alive for the last time when he left for Delhi.
“My son had just returned from our hometown after the Rakshabandhan holidays. He had reached back to his PG yesterday morning, and the next time we saw him was his dead body,” he said.
Bhupendra said the family had later been told about the poor condition of the PG.
“I wish my son had told me before. I would have never let him stay there,” he said.
Another victim, Yuvraj Soni, was identified by his friends. A second-year student at Motilal Nehru College, Yuvraj was from Chhattisgarh. His family is yet to reach AIIMS for the final identification.
His sister, Nishi Soni, said the family was still struggling to come to terms with what had happened.
Yuvraj had also only recently moved into the PG. His friend Aryan said he had been living in North Campus earlier but wanted to move out of his old accommodation.
“He was preparing for the Chartered Accountancy examination. Earlier, he was living in North Campus and was looking to move out of his old PG. He had just moved to the new one,” Aryan said.
Even in the middle of their grief, Arpit Jai’s family decided to donate his corneas. Arpit had been staying at the PG for around one-and-a-half years and was preparing for his CA examination. His father, who works as a cab driver in Dewas, said his son had come to Delhi with hopes of building a better future.
“My son had big dreams and I was working hard to make them come true. He wanted to study in a big city, so we sent him to Delhi. He was also performing well academically,” he said.
The family decided to donate Arpit’s corneas so that someone else could benefit from them. “We donated the cornea to help someone else. Maybe he will be able to see the world even after he is not with us,” his father said.
Rescue teams work through the night, action against officials
The building collapsed at around 1.30 pm on Sunday, following which teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Centralised Accident and Trauma Services (CATS) and other agencies rushed to the site.
The rescue operation continued through the night, with teams searching through the debris and pulling people out from beneath the rubble.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the site and said the rescue operation was being carried out on a “war footing”. She returned on Monday and said strict action would be taken against officials found responsible for negligence.
The Delhi government has also ordered the immediate sealing of buildings with four or more storeys.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) suspended five officials, including a deputy commissioner, from the South Zone.
MCD Commissioner Sanjiv Khirwar told HT that the civic body had “zero tolerance” towards unauthorised construction and that the building department would be held accountable in such cases.
The Delhi High Court has also agreed to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning the collapse in the South Campus area.
