Satya Niketan-like Tragedy Repeats In Delhi: 4-Storey Building Collapses In Seemapuri, Child Killed, Many Feared Trapped – Four-Engine BJP Government Under Rekha Gupta Under Fire
New Delhi: Just a month after the Satya Niketan PG building collapse that killed 7 people, a Satya Niketan-like incident has occurred in Northeast Delhi’s New Seemapuri on Wednesday, exposing the failure of the four-engine BJP government under CM Rekha Gupta to audit and act against dangerous buildings.
A four to five-storey residential building measuring just 25 square yards / 225 sq ft near Idgah Machhli Mandi / Eidgah Fish Market in New Seemapuri collapsed around 3:30 pm on Wednesday, October 7.
According to DCP Shahdara Rajendra Prasad Meena, the front portion of the building collapsed, burying residents and also damaging walls of 2-3 adjoining houses and the boundary wall of a nearby mosque.
Casualty: 1 child, aged around 5 years, found dead. Police said body was found in two parts.
– Rescued: 8 people rescued so far, including 2 children rescued by locals with bare hands. Seven to eight injured have been sent to GTB and other hospitals.
Feared trapped: Initially 12 feared trapped. Locals claim 5 are still missing. DCP said 2-3 people are still trapped and “they are talking” under debris, rescue operation is on.
Delhi Fire Service received call at 3:30 pm and rushed 4 fire tenders. Delhi Police, MCD, DDMA, Civil Defence and later NDRF teams joined rescue. Locals were seen lifting slabs with bare hands before police arrived.
Traffic police issued advisory – traffic affected around Seemapuri Gol Chakkar, DLF Bhopura and adjoining roads.
The incident comes exactly a month after the Sept 6 Satya Niketan five-storey PG building collapse in South Delhi, used for DU students, where repair work in basement was on, killing 7.
After Satya Niketan, the Delhi government had ordered a city-wide audit of dilapidated buildings and MCD had demolished several structures.
But Seemapuri collapse raises questions on the effectiveness of that drive, locals allege. The building was 40-50 years old, with thin walls, closely packed like all buildings in that area, said DCP Meena.
Some locals also claimed the building had developed cracks after tremors felt across Delhi-NCR on Tuesday night after an earthquake in Uttarakhand. The building was evacuated in the morning after the earthquake, and people were gradually moving back in when it suddenly collapsed at 3:30 pm.
Opposition has slammed the BJP’s four-engine government – Centre, LG, MCD and State under CM Rekha Gupta – saying despite big promises of building safety audit after Satya Niketan, on-ground implementation has failed and the poor in Seemapuri, where families engaged in ragpicking live, are paying the price.
