Two children killed in Delhi wall collapse

Colony residents allege that the incident occurred only because of negligence on the part of the MCD. The wall was part of a public lavatory, which has not been used for three years. The toilet was supposed to be demolished, and a school constructed in its place. But that never happened, and the area was used as a dumping ground, say residents. Over the years, concrete waste has piled up in the lavatory, they add. According to the residents, they had made several complaints to the MCD about cracks in the wall, but to no avail. One resident said, 8220;The MCD engineers have stalled the building of the school. This toilet was used to dump waste building material. But trucks regularly come hereto collect this matter, and these MCD engineers sell it as landfills and make money.8221;

Following the tragedy, MCD Commissioner V K Duggal suspended executive engineer P C Meena, assistant engineer C L Bhola and junior engineer Surender Dabas. Duggal insisted that malwa rubble was being dumped there by the Public Works Department to fill gaps in the low-lying areas. According to a statement from the MCD: 8220;It appears that due to the pressure of malwa, the old wall gave way. The wall was three decades old. It was being dumped to prevent water logging.8221;

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 for the families of the deceased. She said of this, Rs 25,000 will be paid by the MCD and the rest by Delhi Government. She has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.