Raigad bldg collapse: Excavator operator praised for 'non-stop' work

An operator of a heavy duty excavator is being praised by the authorities and locals of Mahad town in Maharashtras Raigad district as he has been working virtually nonstop to clear the debris of a building that collapsed on Monday evening killing 15 peopleIn fact although the authorities called off the rescue operation around 1130 am on Wednesday his work of removing the rubble from the site is still onThe operator Kishore Bhagwat Lokhande 24 who stays with his parents and two siblings near the bus stand in Mahad said he got a call on Monday evening from his office asking him to rush to Kajalpura area as a fivestorey building has collapsedI was asked to operate a Poclain machine to remove debris from the site Since then my work is on and still continues as a lot of debris is yet to be cleared from the site Lokhande told PTISince Monday I have been helping the rescue teams to find bodies from the rubble During this period I got off the machine only around four times either to attend the natures call or as some media persons wanted to click my photo he addedHe said he felt bad for the people who died in the tragedyI feel sad that so many people died in the incident But I was very happy when the rescue teams pulled out a four yearold boy alive from under the debris Lokhande said adding that he helped the rescue teams in the recovery of at least 10 bodiesThe toddler and a 60yearold woman were rescued on Tuesday The bodies of 13 victims had been recovered till late on Tuesday night while those of two others were found in the wee hours of WednesdayA police official called Lokhande the real hero for working nonstopHe has been removing the debris for more than 30 hours Besides Lokhande his colleagues who are operating other heavy duty machines like JCB and dumpers are also being praised by the authorities for their work and for helping the rescue teams the official saidLokhande said that after watching the collapsed building rubble and bodies of victims he did not feel like eating muchI ate only two samosas on Tuesday afternoon and khichadi at night Due to the tragedy I did not feel like eating much Besides I felt that I can use that time in the rescue operation he saidLokhande who hails from Patoda in Beed district of Marathwada said he came to Mumbai a few years ago in search of jobI have been operating these machines since the last six years he said Lokhande said has been working for the MumbaiGoa highway project since last few monthsKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever