28 workers pulled out safely as rescue op at Kannauj Railway Station concludes
Kannauj (UP), Jan 12: The rescue operation at the Kannauj Railway Station following a building collapse concluded Sunday morning with rescuers pulling out 28 workers safely after a 16-hour-long operation though the night, officials said.
They said all the rescued workers have been admitted to a hospital for treatment. No fatalities have been reported.
The shuttering of the under-construction building on the station premises had collapsed Saturday afternoon, trapping the workers.
The rescue teams, including personnel from the national and state disaster response force and the railways, worked through the cold night to clear the debris and safely pull out the trapped workers.
District Magistrate Shubhrant Kumar Shukl visited the site early on Sunday, expressing relief that no lives were lost in the tragic incident.
CCTV footage from the site has surfaced, showing a labourer attempting to fix the shuttering (a temporary structure used to support concrete) when the roof collapses. The footage suggests that a beam carried by the worker hit the shuttering, causing it to slip and ultimately collapse.
The North Eastern Railway (NER) on Saturday formed a three-member committee to investigate the cause of the collapse. The committee will include the Chief Engineer for Planning and Design, the Additional Divisional Railway Manager (Izzatnagar) and the Chief Security Commissioner of the Railway Protection Force.
The construction was being carried out as part of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), aimed at enhancing the infrastructure of Kannauj Railway Station.
NER officials have announced ex gratia for the injured workers: Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries and up to Rs 2.5 lakh for those with serious injuries.
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Deputy CM DK Shivakumar asks Vokkaliga Sangha office-bearers to postpone caste census meeting
Bengaluru, Jan 12: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said that he has asked the Vokkaliga Sangha office-bearers to postpone the meeting on the caste census.
He also warned them to stop squabbling or else he would appoint an administrator in the Sangha.
"A team of our new office-bearers came to meet me. They all came together after reconciliation. I have warned them that if the squabbling continues then I will appoint an administrator in the Sangha. They have agreed that they will work together," Shivakumar said.
Asked whether he held a meeting with the Sangha office-bearers, the Deputy CM said he neither conducted any meeting nor felt the need for it.
"The Sangha office-bearers had decided to hold a meeting regarding the caste census. I have told them to postpone the meeting as it would create unnecessary confusion. I also told them that I would talk to the seer of Adi Chunchanagiri Math Nirmananandanatha Swami about it," he told reporters here.
Vokkaliga is one of the major dominant communities of agrarians in Karnataka which Shivakumar belongs to.
The Chairperson of the Commission for Backward Classes, K Jayaprakash Hegde, submitted the socio-economic and education survey report, commonly known as the caste census report, to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on February 29, 2024.
It has triggered a debate among various backward communities as some have opposed it.
State Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said on January 2 during the cabinet briefing that the cabinet would discuss the caste census in its next meeting.
Asked about Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti’s letter to the Home Minister about transferring the case pertaining to C T Ravi, the Deputy CM said the Home Minister would respond to it.
Ravi, a BJP MLC, is accused of using foul words against Minister for Woman and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar on the last day of the Legislative Council session in Belagavi on December 19, 2024.
A case has been registered against Ravi in this regard.
