By Anushka Rajvedi
On 11 January 2025, the roof of an under-construction building collapsed at the Kannauj railway station. It was reported that there were almost 35 workers present at the scene when the incident took place. The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, instructed the police,municipality, railway and officials from the administrative department to reach the site and immediately start a rescue operation. Out of the workers present during the incident, 28 workers were rescued by the team. Out of these 28 workers,nine workers were admitted to the hospital and six were seriously injured.
The under-construction building was a part of the ‘beautification-project’. While the workers were working at construction of the two-storey building, the roof slab of the building suddenly collapsed trapping dozens of workers under the ruins of the building.
Shubhrant Kumar Shukl, the District Magistrate told the PTI agency that, “the initial information that they received from the site confirms that the building collapsed after the roof of the building crumbled.” He further informed the press that, “it is the duty of the authorities to first rescue the workers that are trapped inside the building.” He also assured that “the authorities are providing every kind of assistance they could to lead the rescue operation successfully.”
While the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath Yogi instructed the authorities to make sure that every worker is rescued safely, he also instructed them to provide proper medical facilities to the injured workers. Moreover, the state government also helped the workers by providing a compensation of Rs. 50,000 for those who were severely injured due to the accident and Rs. 5,000 for those who suffered from any kind of minor injury.
Along with the police officials the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) was also present at the scene of the incident. K.Vijayendra Pandian, the commissioner of Kanpur, who was present at the scene told the ANI news agency that, “they have rescued the workers safely. However, they will do a thorough investigation of the site to make sure that there is no worker left under the rubbles of the building.”