Mumbai: One dead, three injured as parapet wall slab of metro rail line falls onto vehicles
Mumbai (PTI): One person died and three others were injured after a slab of the girder bridge of under-construction metro rail line 4 collapsed on a few vehicles in Mumbai's Mulund area on Saturday afternoon, police and civic officials said.
A slab of the parapet wall of the girder bridge fell near Johnson and Johnson factory on the arterial LBS Road some time after noon on an autorickshaw and a Skoda car, both of which were heavily damaged, they added.
A fire brigade official identified the deceased as Ramdhan Yadav and the injured as Rajkumar Indrajeet Yadav (45), Mahendra Pratap Yadav (52) and Deepa Ruhiya (40).
The condition of Rajkumar is critical and he is in an ICU in a nearby hospital, whereas Mahendra and Ruhiya are currently stable, the official added.
In a statement, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority said a portion of the parapet segment fell at 12:15pm near pier 196 of metro line construction close to Mulund Fire Station onto a passing autorickshaw.
The Metro project team is at the site and is working on relief operations and securing the site in close co-ordination with BMC and disaster management authorities, the statement said, adding an investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the collapse.
Line 4 is an under-construction route from Wadala in south-central Mumbai to neighbouring Thane with a large section passing over the arterial LBS Road connecting areas like Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Bhandup, Mulund etc.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad slammed the state government over the incident and questioned whether the lives of Mumbai residents had "become so cheap".
In a post on X, she said authorities were more focused on publicity around infrastructure projects than ensuring public safety.
The Lok Sabha MP demanded accountability from authorities, raising concerns over alleged lapses in safety measures at the site, particularly given the heavy traffic movement in the area.
She also questioned whether quality and technical safety standards were being compromised in the push to complete metro works quickly, and said repeated announcements of inquiries after such incidents were not sufficient.
"While development is necessary, it should not come at the cost of citizens' lives," she said while calling for strict action against those responsible for the lapse.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
