A seven-year-old child died tragically after a wall partly collapsed off an under-construction building and fell on him while playing in Guwahati's Hatigaon locality on Thursday. Following the incident, allegations of illegal construction and sub-par work have been leveled against the contractors.
According to local residents, four children were playing near the under-construction building when part of the wall collapsed and fell on one of them. The incident claimed the child's life as doctors at Gauhati Medical College declared him dead. The body of the deceased is kept there at present.
A witness said, "The children were playing here when a part of the wall from the building here collapsed and fell on one of them. He was about seven years old. It has been over three months that they have dug up the place. The walls have no support and the posts have not been cemented. That is why this collapsed."
The building's contractor has also been accused of breaching construction norms in not maintaining the required distance between two constructions. "As per norms, there should be a minimum of six feet gap between two buildings. There is barely any space here. The contractor left only two feet gap and as a result the wall from their campus fell into the child who was in his own area," he said.
Expressing anguish, another local resident said, "This is illegal construction. They don't have the permission to construct here. They only left a two-feet gap from the wall."
The locals urged authorities to tear down the building to avoid any such incident in the future, expressing deep shock and concern over the matter.
Meanwhile, Hatigaon police arrived at the scene following the incident and have opened an investigation. The locals named one Pappu as the man behind the construction and the police are now probing it. More details are awaited.
