Taratala warehouse collapse: CM Adhikari targets previous KMC administration

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday alleged irregularities in the approval process of a warehouse that collapsed in Kolkata's Taratala area, claiming the construction plan was sanctioned during the previous administration. The collapse has claimed nine lives so far, with investigations underway into possible lapses and corruption in building approvals

Kolkata: The plan for the construction of the warehouse at Taratala on the Southern outskirts of Kolkata that collapsed on Wednesday while it was under construction, was sanctioned by former Mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and ex-West Bengal Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister, Firhad Hakim.

The accident has taken a toll of nine lives so far and left scores injured, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari informed the West Bengal Assembly on Thursday afternoon.

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According to Chief Minister Adhikari, sanction for the plan for the construction of the warehouse was granted on January 17, and had the signature of Hakim and the KMC engineers concerned who examined the plan.

“The previous Trinamool Congress government turned the ‘City of Joy’ into a ‘City of Death’ through rampant bribery and extortion. This is the result of your sins. You have not learnt any lesson from multiple accidents because of building collapses in the past. The signature of the former Mayor is there on the sanctioned plan. No one will be spared,” CM Adhikari informed the House on Thursday.

He also informed the House that besides the signature of Hakim, a four-time Trinamool Congress legislator, the sanctioned plan also had the signature of executive engineer, Ranjan Das, assistant engineer, Nirmalendu Sarkar and sub-assistant engineer, Aminur Sheikh.

He also accused the former Trinamool Congress-controlled Board of KMC of not purchasing modern and sophisticated equipment to handle emergency situations.

“They did not buy any sophisticated equipment to handle an emergency situation. They had already caused a lot of damage. Because of these deficiencies, we had to take the help of the Indian Army. The Bihar Regiment personnel came with proper equipment and started the rescue work,” the Chief Minister said.

He also claimed in the Assembly that there was widespread corruption in the approval of various building plans in the KMC area. According to the Chief Minister, one person named Kali was behind the majority of such irregularities.

“Once Kali is arrested, all the information will surface. Kali used to influence KMC’s sanction plans. He is the one who is behind the construction of the Trinamool Bhavan on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. An FIR has been registered. We will take action and no one will be spared,” the Chief Minister said