Casual civic workers in distress over irregular salaries
More than two thousand temporary workers of Hooghly-Chinsurah municipality are in great financial distress without salary for the last two months.
Six individuals, including promoters and a labour in-charge, have been arrested in connection with the collapse of a portion of a building in Birati on Saturday night that had resulted in the death of a woman. The collapse occurred in a five-storey building in Ward No. 17 of North Dum Dum Municipality. The incident took place when a portion of the building collapsed, causing fatal injuries to a woman.
Eyewitnesses reported that the woman was speaking on the phone beneath the building when the incident occurred. The husband of the deceased had filed a complaint against four individuals, including the promoters, at the Airport Police Station. Following the complaint, six individuals were apprehended by the police. Among them were promoters and a labour-in-charge. According to Sudip Sharma Chowdhury, the husband of the deceased, the building had been constructed without proper approval from the municipality.
He stated in his complaint that the building had multiple floors, with the road in front of it being only 8 feet wide. Reacting to the incident, Minister Firhad Hakim (photo) expressed his condolences and stated: “I have been thinking for so long that if directions are given from above, the work gets done. But what usually happens is unfortunate. I have already spoken to the Police Commissioner.
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In the coming days, I will implement a rule so that promoters tremble if they engage in unauthorised construction.” Councillor Mohua Shil of the concerned ward expressed sorrow over the incident but maintained that it cannot be compared to the Garden Reach incident. She said that no unauthorized construction is allowed in their municipality. Investigations are ongoing, and authorities are likely to take stringent measures against those found responsible for the unauthorised construction and subsequent collapse of the building
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