Construction worker (20) dies, three injured as building site slab crashes in Pune’s Camp area | India News

Pune: A 20-year-old worker died of grievous head injury while three others were injured when a fourth-floor cantilever slab came crashing down on a third-floor slab at a construction site on Sachapir Street in Camp around 2pm Tuesday.An investment firm was constructing a commercial building at the site, police said. The four men were working on the fourth-floor slab, when the accident occurred.Senior inspector Girish Dighavkar of the Cantonment police identified the deceased as Shubhamkar Jadhba Mandal of 24 South Parganas district in West Bengal. The injured workers were Chennilal Mangal Mukherjee (21), Varun (35), and Sanyashi Baghdi (28), all from 24 South Parganas and Kolkata. They were staying in a makeshift facility near the construction site.Dighavkar said: “All the four men were taken to Sassoon General Hospital where doctors declared Mandal dead on arrival. We suspect he landed on his head in the fall. An investment firm has been constructing the building for the past two years. These workers were engaged at the site for the last two to three months.” he said.The officer said the accident occurred around 2pm, but the police were alerted at 3.22pm. “We will probe the delay behind alerting the police, fire brigade and the Cantonment authorities about the incident,” he said.“For now, we have registered an accidental death. We will take a call on registering a formal case after probing the incident. As of now, we only know that an investment firm, having multiple partners, was constructing the building. The building contractor was identified as Yuvraj Raut,” Dighavkar said.TOI on Tuesday evening made repeated calls to Raut, but he did not answer the calls till the time of going to press. TOI also sent a text message to him, but he did not revert to it.Residents from nearby places said there was a bungalow at the spot and an open space. “We heard cries of the workers after the slab caved in. The other workers and men present at the site took the injured people to the ground. However, they were not taken to the hospital immediately,” said a woman, who stays nearby.A senior Pune Cantonment Board officer, who did not wish to be named, told TOI, “It is a freehold property and the Holder of Occupancy Rights and a builder are constructing a building there. Last year, we gave building permission for the ground and first floor. They hired private workers to construct the building.”The total area of the plot (house number 595) is 13,421.78 square feet, said the official. “As per the rules, our officials inspect the site every fortnight to verify if the work is going on as per the sanction plan. After Tuesday’s incident, our engineer will again inspect the site and submit the report. As such, the Cantonment board does not have any role in the construction,” added the official.Karansingh Makhwani, a former member of Pune Cantonment Board, told TOI, “Cantonment authorities must thoroughly investigate the matter and the entire project. As per our observation, the builder has constructed additional height and utilised the parking space also. If the construction is not in accordance with the sanctioned plan, the Cantonment should charge the concerned.”