Tamil Nadu

Construction worker killed in wall collapse

TAMBARAM: A 50-year-old worker died and another was hospitalised when a wall collapsed at the site of a building under construction on Mudichur Road in Tambaram on Saturday. Police said Tirupathy was choked to death while Sasi had been hospitalised.

Tirupathy and a group of workers, all belonging to a family and hailing from Manjakuppam in Cuddalore district, were employed at the site for some weeks now.

Brick walls were being built around the plot. On Saturday, the workers had left for lunch while Tirupathy and Sasi stayed back, arranging the bricks, when the wall collapsed. It took more than 15 minutes for the other workers to pull out Tirupathy, who died on the spot. Tambaram police registered a case under Section 304 (a) of the Indian Penal Code (causing death due to negligence) and arrested three men.

Relatives of Tirupathy and general public who had gathered at the spot said such accidents were taking place to the absence of adequate safety practices in construction sites. Further, government agencies, particularly local bodies, Tambaram Municipality in this incident, simply turned a blind eye to construction of unauthorised structures, they said.

Saturday’s accident was at an unauthorised site and the municipality had not given its approval for the building under construction. Officials said they had not given approval as the State Highways had sought some land on this stretch of Mudichur Road in connection with the road overbridge under construction to replace the level crossing in Tambaram. They had pulled up the builder and also issued “stop work” notices when they came to know about the violation.

In a similar accident that took place at the construction site of a building on Venkatesa Choudhry Street in West Tambaram on December 1 last year, one worker died and three others were injured when construction debris fell on them.

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