A 15-foot wall of an illegal warehouse in Vasai collapsed on Tuesday; authorities say that hiring of cheap labour and unsupervised work were the main reasons for the incident
In yet another collapse incident, a 15-foot wall of an under construction, illegal warehouse came crashing down on Tuesday, injuring 23 unskilled labourers. The incident occurred in Rashad Compound, Vasai (East), located on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway.
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Most of the labourers injured are teenagers, the youngest being 13-year-old Baby Paghe. These labourers were roped in from the nearby adivasi-inhabited district of Vikramgad, situated on the Manor-Jawhar road. “This should be a wake-up call for the authorities to investigate into the hiring of cheap unskilled labour from the adivasi districts in the interiors of Maharashtra.
The injured were rushed to Golden Hospital in Vasai after the 15-foot high wall collapsed. The remaining structure was later demolished, as it was illegal. Pics/Nimesh Dave
Many of them are less than 14 years old and are hired for illegal construction work, which seems to be mushrooming consistently, without any specialised supervision or permissions,” said Dr Sunil Lahane, deputy commissioner, encroachment, Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation.
Lahane further added that his office had observed the illegal construction last week and had issued a notice to the contractor Rashid Sheikh, who did not take the matter seriously and restarted the construction at night. “Two of the workers, Ravita Pajhe (15) and Mithun Bhavan (19), are in a critical condition and have been shifted to bigger hospitals in the city.
While Mithun has fractured his leg, Ravita has sustained injuries to her stomach and needed sonography and treatment, as doctors suspected an infection in her system,” said Lahane. Eight workers are undergoing treatment at Golden Hospital in Vasai. “Our main concern is to ensure that the injured get adequate medical aid,” Lahane added. The remaining illegal structure was demolished late Tuesday evening by the civic authorities.
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