3 dead, many trapped in Greater Noida twin-building collapse
Greater Noida, July 18: At least three persons have died in a twin-building collapse in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida area, police said on Wednesday.
The incident in Shahberi village took place late on Tuesday, apparently due to "too much moisture in the walls of the basement and poor construction material used", an official told IANS.
Three persons, including the builder Ganga Prasad Dwivedi have been taken into custody, he added.
There were a dozen families living in the two buildings and it is feared that more than 50 persons, including labourers were still buried under the debris.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams that had reached the spot immediately have pulled out three bodies from the rubble so far, the official added.
A state government spokesman said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the District Magistrate (DM) to expedite the rescue and relief operations and ensure stringent action against those found guilty.
District Magistrate B.N. Singh, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Ashish Srivastava along with policemen from six police stations and NDRF teams requisitioned from Ghaziabad have been at the disaster site since the accident.
The rescue operations were hampered at night due to poor visibility. Union Minister and Noida Lok Sabha MP Mahesh Sharma also visited the crash site.
Rescue dogs, two hydraulic cranes and six bulldozers have been pressed into service to rescue the people trapped inside the debris.
An official told IANS that both the building had been built illegally and construction work on one had been completed after which a dozen families had shifted in it. The other was still under-construction.
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CPI(M) inaugurates NH-66 stretch in Kerala ahead of PM dedicates it to nation
Kochi (PTI): The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Wednesday inaugurated one of the completed stretches of NH-66, hours ahead of its dedication to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in protest against the exclusion of state PWD minister P A Mohammed Riyas from the PM's event.
Riyas, reportedly, will hold a roadshow on one of the completed stretches of the National Highway-66 that is scheduled to be inaugurated by the PM.
The Thalappady-Chengala stretch of NH 66 was inaugurated by CPI(M) MLA C H Kunhambu.
The roadshow by Riyas will be held on the Vengalam-Ramanattukara stretch of the Kozhikode bypass.
Both these stretches, which were upgraded to six lanes and already opened to the public, were set to be inaugurated by the PM at 12.30 pm here.
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According to government sources, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan won't attend the event, though his name is included in the programme schedule. However, no particular reason was cited for his decision to skip the event.
State Ministers M B Rajesh and K Krishnankutty, who have been invited to the PM's event, also said they are not taking part because of personal reasons.
In response to the CM and other ministers' decision, state BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters that, as per protocol Vijayan, being the head of the state, was invited for Modi's official event, and if the Marxist veteran was aggrieved over his son-in-law (Minister Riyas) not being there, that is his problem.
"As head of the state, the CM was invited in accordance with the protocol. It is nowhere said that the CM's son-in-law (Riyas) and other family members also have to be invited. If they have a problem with it, so be it. That is what I have to say," the BJP leader said.
"It was for the CM to decide who should accompany him. Elections will be held in the state in around 30 days. The CPI(M) is trying to create a controversy now as they know that after 30 days, Vijayan will not be CM and Riyas will not be a minister," Chandrasekhar said.
He further said that the CM was aware of the PM's visit 5-6 days in advance, and he did not say anything about who all should be invited.
"Why did he not say anything? This is all an attempt to create controversy. If you (CM) wanted a certain minister to accompany you, it should have been communicated to the government of India in advance. Why did you not do that? From what I know, the CM did not say anything to the Centre," the BJP state president claimed.
