The labourers injured when a footbridge collapsed near the main Commonwealth Games venue have been paid compensation, the state government said on Wednesday -- but a court ordered it to pay more.
The labourers injured when a footbridge collapsed near the main Commonwealth Games venue have been paid compensation, the state government said on Wednesday -- but a court ordered it to pay more.
New Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit told reporters that 50,000 rupees (1,100 dollars) had been given to those who were slightly hurt and 100,000 rupees had been awarded to those with more serious injuries.
"I visited the hospital, met the labourers. Nobody seems to be critical," said Dikshit, adding that they were recuperating well and "out of danger".
Some 27 labourers were injured, five of them seriously, when the bridge linking a car park with the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi came down on Tuesday, heaping fresh pressure on the embattled organisers of the October 3-14 Games.
The Delhi High Court said compensation should be increased to 100,000 rupees and 300,000 rupees for the more seriously injured, with two judges accusing the state government's labour department of failing to monitor health and safety.
The judges also ordered police to investigate the collapse and told the state government to report to them next week after inspecting all Games sites, the domestic Press Trust of India news agency said.
Dikshit said the authorities had decided to abandon reconstruction of collapsed bridge and would instead create a new path for the spectators to enter the venue.
The stadium is due to host the opening and closing ceremonies plus the athletics.
The Games have been blighted by claims of widespread corruption, dubious contracts and the use of poor quality building materials, as well as delays and problems with the athletes' village, which some teams say is uninhabitable.
On Wednesday, a section of false ceiling in the weightlifting venue next to the stadium also collapsed but no one was reported injured.
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