Kolkata, June 25 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will issue a detailed statement in the Assembly on Thursday about the under-construction warehouse roof collapse incident in the Taratala area, which claimed five lives and left several others critically injured.

The Chief Minister’s statement on this count is quite crucial, especially in the backdrop of severe allegations that have surfaced over the construction of that warehouse being done illegally by the owner, Sambhunath Behra, in connivance with a section of the corrupt officials in the previous Trinamool Congress-run board in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

Behra was arrested early Thursday morning by the Kolkata Police. Three other persons, who were detained on Wednesday night for questioning in the matter, have also been arrested.

One of the three others arrested is Muhammad Gulzar, the supervisor of the under-construction warehouse. The other two are Muhammad Atayul and Subhas Chowdhury, both labour contractors.

The fact that the warehouse, which was being constructed on the land of Kolkata Port Trust, might suffer disaster was first highlighted by the workers’ union of the port trust, affiliated to Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the trade union wing of the CPI(M).

The union also alerted the port trust authorities in this connection through a letter dated June 11. It had accused the notorious mafia in the dock area, Asgar, of being the main person behind that illegal construction.

The port trust authorities, however, clarified that since permission for the construction was granted by the corporation authorities, it was their responsibility to check any illegality.

Members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were carrying out rescue operations in Taratala on Thursday morning. Some people are still feared trapped inside.

The collapsed structure of the warehouse has been removed with a hydraulic crane. A total of 29 people have been rescued from the spot so far. Five of them have died. And 24 are undergoing treatment at SSKM Hospital with injuries. The conditions of two of the injured persons are reportedly critical. Initial reports indicate that four of the deceased are residents of Nadia and one is a resident of Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas.

–IANS

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