Megisterial inquiry ordered by DM in GMC wall collapse & death of a man.

SHYAM SOOD
Rajouri July 12 :–Magisterial inquiry has been initiated by Rajesh Kumar Shavan, District Magistrate, following the collapse of a portion of about 14 meters high retaining wall of road connecting under construction Rajouri GMC complex in the morning in the Maira village and the subsequent death of a man buried under the debris.
“Immediately after the incident, an Engineer of the construction company was conducted to press the machines for the rescue of the man, but he refused & said he will wait for orders either from XEN, PWD, or the district administration” said Kulbir, Sarpanch of Maira.
“We then contacted the administration and XEN, PWD and Additional DC reached the spot and the rescue work could begin at about 10.30 am” he added.
Kulbir and other villagers alleged that they several times raised the issue of cracks developed in the retaining wall with the officials of executing agencies but nobody bothered and this incident happened and they are (PWD & Contractor) responsible for the mishap and death..
The Army also joined the rescue operation after the mishap. After the body was retrieved villagers, family members held a protest on the spot and demanded suitable financial assistance to the family and inquiry against the responsible officials/officers.
Pertinently the construction work with project cost of Rs 139 crores was started in 2017 and 2019 was the deadline for the completion but the target was missed.
Executing agencies were asked to expedite the work before the possible inauguration date set at the end of this month.
The remaining work of filling of about 14 meters high boundary wall was going on war footing to meet the timeline and vibrators were used to level the ground.
“The reason behind the collapse of the retaining wall could be the use of vibrators to level the road and heavy rains in the morning today, wrong designing, lapse in the construction, or sub-standard material used etc, by Kapai Construction Co. The Inquiry has been initiated, and things would clear only after that,” said a senior PWD officer.
Meanwhile, Rajesh Kumar Shavan, District Magistrate (DM also DC) who visited the spot and interacted with the people, has ordered a Magisterial inquiry being conducted by S.D Singh,Additional DC ,and will be helped/assisted by a 9 members team of Engineers from different departments.
Additional DC has been asked to conduct an inquiry into all aspects of the use of sub-standard material, faulty drawings, poor supervision by PWD in-charge officers etc,.
DM also assured ex-gratia relief as per rules. FIR has also been lodged in this incident
In the order, it was mentioned that allegations were made by the people & family members about sub-standard material used in the construction of GMC and its related infrastructure.
It was also alleged that (came to the notice of administration) the basic drawing of the approach ad is faulty due to which a steep height has been created which has led to the collapse of the wall.