Kolkata Building Collapse: Death Toll Climbs to 9; Trinamool Councillor Fails Fulfill Responsibility

Kolkata, March 19 With the death toll due to the collapse of a five-storey under-construction building in the Garden Reach area of the city reaching nine on Monday, the local Trinamool Congress councillor, Shams Iqbal, has claimed ignorance about the alleged mushrooming of illegal constructions in the area. The nine killed in the mishap have been identified as Akbali Ali (34), Riwan Alam (22), Hasina Khatun (55), Shama Begum (44), Mohammad Wasik (19), Mohammad Imran (27), Ramzan Ali (60), Sheikh Nasimuddin (24), and Sheikh Abdulla (19).

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Currently, 12 persons are undergoing treatment at a city hospital, where the condition of a few is stated to be critical. Shams Iqbal, meanwhile, has claimed ignorance in the matter, stating that no one complained to him terming the under construction building that collapsed as an illegal property. “I have a lot of responsibilities in the ward. I have to take care of basic public amenities like water supply and roads. As the councillor, it is not my responsibility to identify illegal constructions in the area,” Iqbal said.

Kolkata Mayor and state minister Firhad Hakim, who is the Trinamool legislator from the area where the mishap took place, also chose to defend the local councillor. “Identifying illegal constructions is not the task of the local councillor,” Hakim said. The opposition parties have claimed that defending Iqbal is the compulsion of the Mayor since the councillor is one of the principal sources of funds supply to the ruling party's exchequer.