More than 330 building-related calls received till Sept 6; 30 killed: Delhi Fire Service data

The Delhi Fire Service received over 330 calls related to building issues between January 1 and September 6 this year, with such incidents leaving 30 people dead and 120 injured, according to Delhi Fire Services data.

In the corresponding period last year, the DFS had received 446 calls, with building-related incidents resulting in 46 deaths or fatal incidents and 155 injuries, the data accessed by PTI showed.

A DFS official said the calls received and responded to by the department did not pertain only to major building collapses, but also included minor incidents and precautionary calls involving cracks in structures, falling bricks, roof collapses and other building-related concerns.

Despite the decline in the overall number of calls and casualties compared with last year, the city has witnessed several fatal building collapses and other major incidents this year. These include the May 30 collapse in Saidulajab that killed six people, a house collapse in Malka Ganj’s Sabzi Mandi area and the collapse of a four-storey building in Karawal Nagar, both in June.

A major fire at a bed-and-breakfast establishment in Hauz Rani on June 3 also claimed 23 lives, including 11 foreign nationals.

The latest major incident occurred in Satya Niketan, where a five-storey building housing a boys’ paying guest accommodation near Delhi University’s South Campus collapsed around 1.30 pm on September 6.

The over 27-hour rescue operation at the site concluded around 5.10 pm on Monday, with all rescue units subsequently withdrawn, according to the DFS. Twelve people were pulled out of the debris, of whom seven died and five were injured.

Multiple agencies, including the Delhi Police, DFS, National Disaster Response Force and Delhi Disaster Management Authority, were involved in the rescue operation through the night and into Monday.

Locals claimed that repair work was underway at the building when it collapsed.

Police have arrested the building owner, 81-year-old Hariram, a retired Indian Air Force sergeant, his 75-year-old wife Urmila and their 52-year-old son Mahesh in connection with the incident.

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The three have been booked on charges including culpable homicide, negligence in the upkeep of a structure and endangering the safety of others.

“Hariram and his son were allegedly running the PG, while Urmila was the owner of the property. Following the arrests, teams are questioning the three to ascertain the cause of the collapse and fix responsibility for the incident,” a police officer said.