Four migrant workers were buried alive at a construction site near the upscale VIP Road in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, after the earth caved in at a construction site.
The incident occurred at about 9 a.m. in the morning when two carpenters and two rod benders had gone down to work on a sub-soil retaining wall at a depth of about 40 feet.
The deceased have been identified as P. Someshwara Rao (35) a native of Madhavapuram in Srikakulam district, Pardesi Patro of Berhampur (35), Odisha, Krishna (33) also of Srikakulam and Ramu (18) of Odisha.
Five workers were engaged at work at the accident spot. Out of the five, one escaped, while the others were buried.
According to the lone survivor, Appalaraju, they were all busy with their work, when they noticed some loose soil pouring down. “Anticipating that the soil might cave in, we tried to rush out of the pit. But before we could run, the earth came down upon us in tonnes. I was on the far edge, was lucky to survive by a whisker, but my co-workers were buried in seconds,” he said.
While it took two hours to retrieve three of the bodies, the body of Ramu could be retrieved only by afternoon.
According to Chief City Planner of GVMC, Venkat Rao, the building plan was approved in the name of one Chandrakant and two others. The plan was for a commercial complex, with one cellar, a sub-cellar and ground plus four floors. But he agreed that there was some amount of negligence on part of the builders.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (East sub-division) D.N. Mahesh informed The Hindu that the construction was taken up by a construction company by name Sri Venkateswara Construction, which is supposedly owned by one Bhanuprasad and Seetharam. “All the concerned persons are absconding. We will register a case under IPC Section 304 A (causing death by negligence) and if required to make the case even tighter we will attract IPC Section 304 part 2,” he said.
Panchayat Raj Minister and senior TDP leader Ayyanna Patrudu visited the site and said that an inquiry will be headed by District Collector N. Yuvaraj and other departments such as GVMC, Police and Labour Department will submit their individual findings. “Based on the inquiry, action will be initiated against the builder and also against concerned authorities if found guilty,” he said.
Coming to compensation, the Minister noted that it will be borne by the builder and the government, and it will be decided shortly after a discussion with the Chief Minister.
