Panel to conduct survey of unsafe buildings in capital

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The district administration will set up a high-level committee to carry out a survey of the unsafe buildings in the State capital.

The committee would have the Town Planner, officials of the Public Works and Revenue Departments and experts as members, District Collector Sanjay M. Kaul said here on Tuesday. The district administration was of the view that there were several unsafe old buildings in the district, he said.

Mr. Kaul said the move to set up a committee was taken in view of the collapse of the 80-year-old Udupi Srevas-Sreenivas Tourist Home on Monday.

The District Collector said rescue operations were called off temporarily, as all missing persons had been traced. The work to remove the debris would start on Wednesday.

City Police Commissioner M.R. Ajith Kumar said the removal of the debris would be a long process due to several impediments in taking the heavy equipment to the complex.

The District Collector would form an expert committee comprising Public Works Department (PWD) officials, building experts and Fire and Rescue Service personnel to decide on the fate of the remaining portion of the building.

Rescue operations

It was a tremendous effort for the over 240 Fire and Rescue Service personnel from the southern districts to extricate those trapped in the debris. The police lend a helping hand with top officials supervising the rescue operations.

In addition to those in the district, Fire and Rescue Service personnel from Ernakulam, Angamaly, Thripunithura, Gandhi Nagar, Kottayam, Alappuzha and Kollam were roped in. Two personnel, N. K. Arun and Shafiq Ali, from the city were injured during the rescue work.

The dead persons were in the ground floor of the building. “We used hydraulic equipment like power cutter and driller among others till 11 p.m. on Monday. The JCB was pressed into service only later,” a Fire and Rescue Service official said.

The JCB operator, Velu, 23, was the cynosure of all eyes. Braving the threat posed by the front portion of the tourist home which was on the verge of collapse, Velu hailing from Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu was at work from 11 p.m. on Monday to remove the concrete beams and debris. He received a hero’s welcome when he came out of the complex accompanied by Praveen who gave him support during the task.

The City Police Commissioner was all praise for the dedication shown by Velu and Praveen. Divisional Officer of Kerala Fire and Rescue Services Joe Kuruvila, who was at the site, said Velu played a significant role in the rescue work.

The Hindu