Dharwad building collapse; death toll mounts to 7
Bengaluru, Mar 20: The death toll in the building collapse at Dharwad in north Karnataka Mounted to seven Wednesday as rescuers pulled out four more bodies from the debris and one person succumbed to injuries at a hospital,police said.
Rescuershad pulled out 55 people from the rubble of the four-storeyed under construction building, which collapsed Tuesday evening at Kumareshwar Nagar in the heart of Dharwad, about 400 km from here.
"Seven People Have lost their lives," Director General of Police (chief of fire and emergency services) M N Reddi told PTI.
Earlier, Hubballi-Dharwad commissioner of police M N Nagaraj said 55peoplehad been rescued.
He expressed apprehension that about 15 to 20 people were trapped inside the rubble.
No arrests have been made, Nagaraj said.
"We have registered a case. Arrests will also follow but our focus at present is on the rescue operations," he added.
Police said rescue operations had been intensified to extricate people believed to be still trapped beneath the debris.
In addition to 10 ambulances and five fire tenders deployed for relief and rescue operations, three teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) have been engaged, two from Ghaziabad and one from Bengaluru.
"Two more teams of #NDRF are being airlifted from Ghaziabad in addition to one team which was moved from Bangalore in connection with Dharwad building collapse," the NDRF tweeted earlier in the day.
About 150 police, fire and emergency personnel too have joined the rescue operations.
Former Karnataka minister and Congress leader from the region Vinay Kulkarni had said Tuesday that one of the partners in the building was his relative and that whoever was involved should face action.
An eye-witness had alleged that the building did not have the capacity to bear four storeys whereas an extra floor was being added.
"The builders had used substandard materials," he told reporters Tuesday.
Most of those trapped were migrant labourers from north India who were engaged in laying tiles.
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Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao condemns removal of sacred thread during CET
Bengaluru (PTI): The controversy over the alleged removal of sacred threads and other religious symbols during the KCET examination intensified on Saturday, with Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao condemning the act as "inhuman" and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanding strict action, calling it a violation of religious rights.
Reacting to the incident at Krupanidhi College in Madivala, the Minister said the government had taken note of the matter and assured transparent action, even as police have registered a case and initiated an investigation.
“The inhuman act of asking students to remove their ear studs, bangles, hijab or sacred thread, and even cutting long sleeves with scissors thereby affecting their morale is unacceptable and condemnable,” Rao said in a post 'X'.
He asserted that examination centres must test students’ knowledge and not undermine their dignity, adding that the government would take stringent steps to prevent recurrence.
The Minister also urged affected students not to lose confidence, saying the government stood firmly with them.
Meanwhile, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Karnataka South, strongly condemned the incident, alleging that it had hurt the religious rights and self-respect of the Hindu community.
“The incident of students removing and cutting off their Janivaras during the CET examination has violated the religious rights, culture and self-respect of the Hindu community,” the organisation said in a press note.
Calling the sacred thread a symbol of religious heritage and dignity, it said, “Society will not tolerate any act that insults it,” and demanded a thorough probe and stringent action against those responsible.
It also pointed out that similar incidents had been reported in the state last year, terming the recurrence “unfortunate and condemnable.”
The organisation further alleged that such incidents were damaging the well-being of society and claimed that some schools and colleges are promoting hatred against the Hindu society.
The row erupted after students alleged that invigilators at the examination centre asked them to remove religious symbols, including the sacred thread, during the Common Entrance Test (CET).
Following the incident, an invigilator was suspended and police 'secured' three staff members for questioning.
The CET is conducted for admission to professional courses across the state.
