3-storey lodge collapses in Anuppur:2 dead, rescue operation underway, fears of more people trapped under debris

Near Kotma bus stand in Anuppur district, a three-storey building of Agarwal Lodge collapsed on Saturday evening around 5:30 PM. Two people died in the accident, while three are injured. People are still feared to be trapped under the debris. Searching is still ongoing 18 hours after the accident. A 35-member team from Bhilai arrived at 5 AM, and a 41-member team from Banaras arrived around 9:30 AM. Additionally, more than 100 people from NDERF, SDERF, and local coal mines are involved in the rescue. Two search dogs from Banaras have been lowered into the pit. 10-12 ambulances are present at the accident site. The deceased have been identified as Hanuman Deen Yadav (55) and Ram Kripal Yadav (40). Both were working on the fourth floor when the accident occurred. Eyewitnesses said – Screams erupted as the building collapsed Arun Soni was present there at the time of the incident. Arun said that the building fell unilaterally towards the pit. After the accident, the area became smoky. Screams erupted. Meanwhile, eyewitness Lallu Gupta said that he was passing by. He saw this building collapsing in front of him. First, he ran to save himself. He saved three people. Construction work was going on in the lodge and the adjacent building. According to resident Rakesh Jain, he was at his shop at the time of the incident. People suddenly ran. At first, he thought a beehive might have been disturbed. Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose with a loud noise. Then he found out that the building had collapsed. The woman injured in the accident said that she was buying groceries next to the lodge when the building collapsed. She barely managed to escape. She sustained injuries to different parts of her body. 12-foot deep pit dug for shopping complex The owner of Agarwal Lodge is Lallu Agarwal. Currently, he has moved to Kotma Basti with his brother. He is in shock after the incident. Next to it is Ramnaresh Garh’s grocery store. Ramnaresh was getting a pit dug for a shopping complex. Two different things are coming to light regarding this. First, a basement was being constructed here. Second, a foundation pit was dug for the proposed building. Municipal Vice President Badri Prasad Tamrakar said that a pit about 12 feet deep was dug for construction work on a plot of about 20 by 50 feet right next to the lodge. This pit was filled with water, which weakened the foundation of the lodge. In addition, repair work had been going on at Agarwal Lodge for some days. At the time of the incident, work related to tiles and plumbing was also ongoing. Due to this, the lodge was closed to visitors for some days. CMO said – Will tell after seeing the file whether there was permission for construction or not Local people say that permission was not taken for the ground floor construction. Meanwhile, Kotma Municipality’s CMO Pradeep Jharia reached the spot late at night. He avoided answering media questions. He only said that he would have to check the file related to the building’s permission. Currently, it is not clear whether the construction was permitted or not.