Bodies sent for last rites under tight vigil

Amidst tight security, bodies of victims who died in water tank collapse incident were brought in the afternoon at Sai Baba Nagar. Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were deployed in the locality to avoid any untoward incident.

The locals and the relatives of the victims protested when the bodies were being taken for last rites and raised slogans against the administration and leaders of the ruling party. The administration had made all the arrangements for cremations and the bodies were cremated at Subhash Nagar crematorium amidst tight security.

The Bhopal Municipal Corporation continued the search operation on Monday morning in the debris of the water tank. Two JCB machines were working round the clock to ensure safe rescue of the victims and later continued to remove the rubble from the site to clear the place.

Earlier, the Sai Baba Nagar residents of the state capital witnessed tsunami like conditions after an over head tank collapsed on late Sunday night.

A victim Anil Korbata told that at around 12.30 in the night a thunderous sound was heard and after sometime the roof and one wall of his house was damaged. The cement sheet of another house along with huge water current hit my house which damaged the house. The locals worked for the whole night to rescue the victims. A fire tender vehicle came in the form of initial help from the administration but the local residents of the neighbouring colonies played pivotal role in the rescue operation. At around 2.30 in the night, two JCB machines appeared and started to remove the debris of the water tank. The victims were rushed to the hospital.

Deepak Pawar, who lives on the back side of the mosque in the locality, told that the locals heard the sound of the collapse and immediately came out of their houses, but by then everything was in a chaos. Shrieks of people were coming out of different shanties.

The colony is around 35 year old and situated on a hillock. Almost all the sides of the tank were affected in the incident as after hitting the ground, the water tank exploded and its parts shot in different directions.

Raju Narwade told that impact of the collapse was devastating as the water current with enormous force struck their houses and the rubbles of the water tank were the main destructive element in the whole incident.

Rajendra Raikwar, who lost his family members Ravi and Neha, told that the family is not greedy and they are not protesting against the administration but the family is irritated over the lull response of the administration and the other thing was the compensation which is not clear as the senior officials of administration have not conveyed anything about the compensation for the family and for the damaged house.

Deceased Puniya Bai’s son Lakhan told that at the time of incident he was present at his in-laws’ house and had gone to bring back his children and wife. The victim Puniya Bai was alone at the time of incident.

The incident of overhead tank collapse in Bhopal resurfaced the long-pending demand to dismantle and construction of over a dozen risky overhead tanks in different parts of the State capital. The city has above 40 of overhead tanks to supply water to the locals, of these over a dozen overhead tanks are in shabby condition and require immediate makeover. Demand to dismantle them and construct new overhead tanks replacing them have been made time and again by leaders and locals, but neither the BMC administration nor the district administration took heed to the demand.

The Pioneer tried to find out the conditions of overhead tanks in the city and find out that the overhead tanks located at Aishbagh, Shahjehanabad, Ashoka Garden, Sabzi Mandi, Gandhi Nagar, Qazi Camp, Govind Garden, Lal tank in BHEL, Arera Colony located tank opposite to Fracture Hospital in E-6, tank at 1100 quarters, Jawahar Chowk, Shahjehanabad, Qazi Camp, Sabzi Mandi, Sultania Zanana Hospital, Hamidia Hospital, Jumerati, Kalla-shah compound, Subhash Nagar, Itwara and Shakti Nagar are in depleted condition and need immediate attention, else the Sai Baba Nagar type incident could reoccur anytime.

Home Minister Umashankar Gupta who is also the former mayor of the city while talking to ‘The Pioneer’ while expressing serious concern over the negligence of the BMC said, “ The fingers are pointed towards the BMC for the incident and it is a matter of grave concern. The BMC should either renovate the shabby overheads or should dismantle them.”

Gupta further said that the BMC is having the technique for safe dismantling the dangerous structures, it should be utilized to ground the shabby overhead tanks and new tanks should be constructed.

Former state Congress spokesman Arif Masood said, “Last year on November 14, we had staged a daylong dharna and submitted a memorandum to the UAD Minister Babulal Gaur and Mayor Krishna Gaur demanding to dismantle the dangerous overhead tanks, we also provided the list of these tanks but no action has been taken. Had the BMC and State Government acted on it, this saddening incident could have been avoided.”

Wednesday 21 November 2012

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhopal/109925-bodies-sent-for-last-rites-under-tight-vigil-raf-cadre-deployed-.html