Kolkata, Mar 21 (PTI) The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will continue with round-the-clock search and rescue operations at the Garden Reach house collapse site till the last body is recovered from the rubble, Mayor Firhad Hakim said on Thursday.
The announcement was made after the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) called off its search operations on Wednesday evening, some 72 hours after the illegal under-construction five-storey building crumbled on adjacent dwellings and claimed 10 lives so far besides injuring 17 others.
At least one person, Sheru Nizami, from the area is still reported to be missing and is apprehended to be buried under the pile of iron and concrete.
The KMC has taken over search and rescue operations at the site following the NDRF’s decision to pull out on grounds that no more body could be traced.
Hakim, who is also the local MLA, said, “I have visited the family members of Nizami and assured them that the KMC will continue with the search for him under the debris.” Locals protested against the decision of the central agency and demanded that Nizami, an associate of the building’s arrested promoter Md Wasim, could still remain buried under the rubble.
The locals pleaded that Nizami’s body, if spotted under the rubble, be retrieved in a dignified manner, amid apprehensions that it could get torn to pieces during the recovery process.
Hakim also stated that the KMC will consult locals regarding the demolition of a nearby building that is leaning towards another, posing a threat to the residents. PTI BSM NN
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