Govt blacklists accused builders in Goa collapse case

The Goa government today blacklisted the construction firm responsible for the Canacona building collapse early this month, which left 31 people dead.
"We have withdrawn all the licences of the builder (M/S Bharat Realtors and Developers). We have also blacklisted them," Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said.
The builders, who are directors of the firm -- Vishwas Desai, Jaideep Saigal and Pradeep Singh Birring -- are accused in the collapse case. While contractor Vishwas has been arrested, two others are still absconding and efforts are on to trace them.
The five-storey under-construction building collapsed on January 4 claiming 31 lives and leaving several others injured.

The rescuers had managed to pull out 16 people alive from the debris during the 10-day rescue operation, which met with a roadblock days after the collapse when two adjacent structures began to tilt precariously due to drilling. Thereafter, manual rescue work continued for almost a week.
Goa police have already booked cases against the builders. Also, two government officers--Deputy Town Planner Prakash Bandodkar and a Deputy Collector Prashant Shirodkar have been arrested.
The state government has already formed a three-member committee headed by retired IAS officer to probe the incident.