On Monday, an official reported that the death toll from the collapse of an under-construction building in South Kolkata has climbed to eight. The incident occurred late on March 17, involving a five-storey building in the Garden Reach area.
According to the official, 17 individuals sustained injuries in the collapse. Earlier in the day, West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for the injured.
Bose stated, “Thirteen individuals have been rescued. Compensation of Rs 5 lakh will be provided to the families of the deceased, and Rs 1 lakh will be given to the injured.”
Expressing grief over the incident, Banerjee wrote on the social media platform X, “Sad to learn about the house collapse disaster of an under-construction building in the Garden Reach area of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Our mayor, fire minister, secretaries and Commissioner of police, civic, police, fire and disaster management officers and teams (including NDRF, KMC and KP teams) have been on site throughout the night to mitigate the disaster.”
“This is an illegal construction. I express my condolences to the families. I will urge the administration to take strict action against those involved in illegal construction. When this construction was going on, those involved should have been more vigilant,” Banerjee said.
