Protests over MCD's apathetic attitude; govt announces ex-gratia

New Delhi, Feb 12 (UNI) Massive protests followed the arrival of Municipal Corporation of Delhi personnel at the accident site in West Delhi's Madipur area where a building collapse led to seven people being killed and eight others injured.

Shouting slogans local people, which included relatives of the deceased shouted slogans and gathered in large numbers and protested MCD's 'lax approach' towards the incident when MCD men arrived this morning at the 'site' for debris removal.

Blaming the MCD for the 'chaos' in the area which led to the accident, agitated people even heckled the staff for not coming to the aid 'in time' which, they said, could have helped in lessening the casualties.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government announced an ex-gratia of one lakh for those killed and Rs 20,000 for the seriously injured.

The MCD, on its part, ordered a 'vigilance inquiry' into the incident which would submit its report within a week.

Its spokesman said the building was in a resettlement colony where only a single-storey structure was allowed. ''Here people had illegally constructed up to four storeys.

A senior police official said three of the eight injured, who were admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital and Balaji Hospital, were ''critical''. Their condition was being constantly monitored, he added.

Yesterday's collapse of a four-storeyed residential building in Madipur area of West Delhi had claimed seven lives, of which three were children.

UNI