TN Guv condoles deaths in wall collapse

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Monday expressed shock and grief over the death of 17 people in a wall collapse near Coimbatore.

"I convey my deep condolences to the bereaved members of the families," he said in a message.

A portion of a 15-foot high private compound wall, wet due to heavy rains lashing the area for the past few days, collapsed on a row of houses at Nadur village, killing the 17, including 10 women and two children, in their sleep.

Meanwhile, villagers at Nadur demanded immediate arrest of the owner of the land, where the wall was constructed.

They also put forth various demands including increase in the solatium from Rs 4 lakh announced by the state government to Rs.25 lakh during a meeting convened by district collector K Rajamani at Mettupalayam.

Earlier, about 500 local people staged a sit-in on the Mettupalayam-Ooty road, seeking the arrest of the land owner, disrupting traffic for nearly one hour.