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Workers Trapped Inside After Building Collapse In Velachery; Family Members Lament; Dravidianist Media Silence Questioned

The Commune 
Image Source: Screengrabs of videos from Behindwoods & News Tamil 24x7

An incident in Velachery has left the people of Chennai shocked in the aftermath of the flooding due to Cyclone Michaung.

According to a Behindwoods Air report dated  November 2023, at 7 AM in Velachery, construction activity was underway near the petrol pump station. Tragically, a building collapse occurred on Five Furlong Road, trapping some construction workers under debris within a container they used as living quarters. As per the Times of India, three other workers were successfully rescued by traffic police, employing ropes to pull them to safety. The cause of the collapse remains undetermined, and authorities stated that the workers had just arrived for their daily construction project when the incident transpired. 

Behindwoods spoke to relatives of the victims trapped inside the debris. A lady whose nephew was caught inside said, “They had warned of the heavy rain, but they should have allowed the boys to stop work and come out. They called the boys who went home and asked them to come to work. I am heartbroken, they were just at home and they went to work. How unjust can this get? They have been lying in this water for the past 2 days. They rescued those tunnel workers in Uttarakhand, why can’t these people bring something to rescue them? My nephew operates the JCB, he is the main engineer. He got married just 6 months ago. Is there no other way to take them out? The rains have stopped, it is 2 days now. There were people I think, I don’t know how many are trapped inside. How unfair this is, sir! They cannot save our people? Tamil Nadu government cannot?”

Turning to the camera, the lady said, “Chief Minister sir, Stalin ayya, this incident has happened in our state. You have been quiet for the past 2 days, will people be quiet like this anywhere? The whole world felt happy that those 41 people were rescued from the Uttarakhand tunnel. I also prayed for their safe rescue. This is happening in our own state of Tamil Nadu, our own kids are trapped inside, why are you looking at this patiently? Does your conscience accept this? We are suffering, we are unable to bear the sorrow. We have been crying for the past 2 days, and all the families that are affected by this are crying. You need to do something to resolve this. But this is not right, waiting for 2 days to rescue them. You don’t seem to care for us. How is this fair?”

When asked if any minister came to see them, she said EV Velu had come and spoken to her. She said he promised to remove them from the debris and that the rescue team would be there in 10 minutes. 

Another male relative said, “They haven’t even been able to give the correct number of people stuck inside. Yesterday they said 1 person was inside. When this madam arrived, they said 2 people were inside. My brother-in-law is caught inside, I know he is there. Will they keep increasing the number based on the number of people here? My brother-in-law got married only 9 months back, he lives close by in Velachery. All were young people. It is now more than hours. They said they will do something when the rain stops. The Mayor came yesterday and I asked her when they will begin the rescue work. She said we have pumps, and once the rain stops, we will start work she said. The rain stopped at 2 yesterday, I was here only, they did not start any work. Ministers came, the Health minister, then someone else came, Mayor Priya came, they all came, did the photoshoot perfectly and left. We are all very upset, my wife and sister had to be admitted to the hospital, and they were so disheartened and mournful. They should have done something, we don’t even know if we will get the dead body of our relatives. They don’t seem keen to do anything now. At night, they will chase away the crowd and even if 15 people are dead inside, they would cover it up and say 1 or 2 died and getting ready for that.”

Another parent of one of those trapped said, “My son is trapped inside. From yesterday till this minute, no one has done anything. All they say is they are on the way. What are they even doing?”

When the reporter said that there may be 10 people inside and if there were relatives of other people trapped, he was told that some of them were north Indians and they were not sure if they had family there. Just because people whose family members hadn’t returned home came to the accident spot to claim the dead body, they were able to judge the number of victims. 

An onlooker described the building and said that its basement was being constructed. He added, “Even if you check news from 3 years ago, you will know this place is known for water stagnation every time it rains. It was wrong of the management to call them for work that day. People will come to work because they are worried about pay cuts if they do not turn up for work even for a day. The company could have given the day off since the weather conditions were such. Now who is responsible for the loss of lives?”

A family member said, “We do not know who the manager is, we don’t even know the company name. The police are not telling us even that.”

Heartwrenching scenes of the grieving wives and family members being pushed away by the police:

Many on social media have questioned the stoic silence of the Dravidianist media over the incident.

The rescue has still not been carried out as of 6 December 2023.

 

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