Building collapses in Jodhpur; 3 rescued

Three persons were rescued from the debris after a building collapsed on a busy road in Sardarpura area here today.

Teams of Jodhpur Municipal Corporation, the police and civil defence personnel, besides officials from the Jodhpur Development Authority (JDA) swung into action after receiving reports of the incident.

The rescue operation, which lasted for about four hours, pulled out two men and a boy from the debris alive, the police said.

"We are thankful to God that all the three persons stuck under the debris were saved," Mayor Ghanshyam Ojha said.

The accident was triggered by construction work in the adjacent plot. An excavator had been digging sand just below the wall of the ill-fated building and in no time, the entire building came down.

When asked about the construction activity, Ojha said, As far as the construction at the adjacent plot, its permission and compliance to the construction parameters, I have given directions to the officials. If found guilty, action would be taken in the matter".

Meanwhile, an FIR was registered against the owner of the plot on the complaint of the owner of the collapsed building, Chandra Prakash Maheshwari.

"We have registered an FIR on the complaint of the owner of the collapsed house and the investigation has been initiated," said SHO (Sardarpura) Bhupendra Singh.

According to reports, the plot where the construction was going on belonged to a BJP leader, who despite the objections from Maheshwari, continued with the work.

Maheshwari said he had filed complaints regarding the construction activity in the adjacent plot, but in vain.