Surat building collapse death toll rises to 7; FIR against owners, 1 person held
Surat (PTI): The death toll in the collapse of a six-storey building in Gujarat's Surat city has gone up to seven with the recovery of six more bodies overnight, police said on Sunday.
A person who collected rent from the building occupants has been arrested and he and two owners of the structure have been booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, they said.
The residential building, which was in a dilapidated condition and located in the Pal area, collapsed at around 2.45 pm on Saturday, as per the police.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), two teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police personnel and fire brigade were involved in the rescue operation, the Surat police said in statement.
After around three hours of operation, they managed to rescue a 20-year-old woman, named Kashish Sharma, and rushed her to the hospital for treatment.
The body of a man was pulled out on Saturday night, an official earlier said.
Rescue teams later pulled out six more bodies from the debris, according to police.
Seven bodies were recovered from the debris in the operation that continued through the night, Sachin GIDC police station inspector Jignesh Chaudhari said.
The deceased, most of them textile workers from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, have been identified as Hiraman Kevat (40), Abhishek (35), Brijesh God (50), Shivpujan Kevat (26), Anmol Harijan (17), Parvesh Kevat (21), and Lalji Kevat (40), the statement said.
An FIR has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections, including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), against the building owners Raj Kakadiya and his mother Ramilaben Kakadiya, and one Ashwin Vekariya, who collected rent from the occupants, inspector Chaudhari said.
Vekariya has been arrested and efforts are underway to nab the two other accused, he said.
Raj Kakadiya is currently in the US, as per the police.
As per the FIR, the dilapidated building was mostly vacant as the earlier occupants had left due to the danger it posed. A few families, however, continued to live there on rent.
On April 26 this year, the Surat Municipal Corporation issued a notice to the building's owner to get it vacated due to its dilapidated condition, the FIR stated.
The building's occupants repeatedly requested Vekariya to carry out repair works for damages caused to the structure but he told them the owners had refused it and they will get it done next year, it claimed.
The building was constructed in 2016-17, Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot said on Saturday.
Around five flats were occupied, mostly by those who work in factories in the area, he said.
An NDRF official said the rescue operation concluded by around 9 am on Sunday.
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Commercial LPG hike: Delhi restaurant owners warn of higher menu rates, job losses
New Delhi (PTI) A day after a 50 per cent rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, Delhi's food business, with restaurant owners and street vendors have warned of higher menu rates, financial strain and potential job losses if the trend persists.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by a steep Rs 993 per 19 kg cylinder, marking the third consecutive monthly hike amid rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
For many in the restaurant industry, the spike has been both sudden and steep.
Manpreet Singh, honorary treasurer of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that eateries are already grappling with supply challenges alongside rising costs.
"There is a huge difficulty in getting these cylinders, and black marketing is also increasing in many unregulated sectors," he said, noting that prices that were once around Rs 1,600, often dropping to nearly Rs 1,300 with discounts, have now surged to between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per cylinder.
He further added that a medium-sized restaurant typically uses between two and five cylinders daily, making the increase particularly burdensome as costs mount.
Singh further said that as costs mount, smaller establishments could struggle to stay afloat. Instead, the association has advised restaurants to shift towards piped natural gas connections through Indraprastha Gas Limited as a more sustainable alternative.
"If this problem continues, PNG is the only long-term solution," he said, adding that temporary measures like coal offer limited relief due to slower cooking times and that it can largely be used only for tandoors.
Echoing similar concerns, Kabir Suri, owner of Mamagoto in Khan Market, said the impact is already visible across the industry. "There has been almost a threefold increase in cylinder prices for restaurants," he said, adding that rising fuel and logistics costs are compounding the pressure.
"If this continues, it will become a significant financial burden, and food prices will inevitably go up. Adding to this burden, higher fuel costs are also affecting logistics and transportation, making a price rise unavoidable. The extent of the impact will vary between small eateries and large chains depending on their scale," he said.
Global oil prices have surged nearly 50 per cent following disruptions in energy supply chains due to the West Asia conflict, pushing up commercial fuel costs and transport expenses.
A West Delhi-based restaurateur said they are trying to manage rising costs while keeping their staff secure. "We are trying to ensure that our staff, from kitchen workers to waiters, are paid on time and do not face immediate hardship," the owner said.
"We are a small restaurant with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time. But if this continues for long, we will have to take difficult calls. There is only so much we can absorb, and menu prices will have to go up. We hope this does not continue for a longer period," he said.
Another restaurant owner in North Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said operational adjustments alone may not be enough. "We are checking our costs very carefully and trying to cut wherever possible, but if fuel prices remain high, it will eventually affect how we run the business," the owner said.
"Coal helps in tandoor cooking, but it takes more time," the owner further added.
The strain is even more acute among street vendors, many of whom operate on thin margins. A vendor in Saket said he had recently expanded his business, moving from a mobile cart to a rented outlet.
"I have a family to feed and more responsibilities now. Earlier, I managed with a moving cart, but after renting the place, expenses increased," he said. "Whenever cylinders were unavailable, I had to buy them at higher rates in the black market. Now even regular supply is too expensive, and if this continues, we may have to shut down," he added.
In Laxmi Nagar, another vendor said they are struggling to keep the business running. "Sometimes we even used domestic cylinders from home when supply ran out because we had to keep the stall running," he said, adding that rising costs leave little choice but to increase prices or bear losses.
On April 1, the rates of commercial LPG cylinders were hiked by Rs 195.50 per cylinder, followed by a Rs 114.5 hike on March 1, taking the total increase over the past three months to Rs 1,303. With the latest revision, a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 3,371.5 in Delhi, up from Rs 2,078.5 earlier.
The prices of domestic LPG cylinders used for household cooking have remained unchanged. They were last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2 kg cylinder on March 7 and currently cost Rs 913 in Delhi.
