‘He was going to come home for Chhath’: Families wait anxiously outside collapsed Chawri Bazar building

“He was going to come for Chhath Puja,” said Virendar Kumar, anxiously waiting for an update on his brother, Pankaj Sharma, who he feared was trapped under the debris of a three-storey building that collapsed around 10 am on November 5, just days before Diwali and Chhath Puja.

When our reporters left the site at 7 pm, rescue operations were still on, and families of labourers feared trapped in the building were wailing outside Shesh Mahal Gali.

An under-construction three-storey building collapsed in Old Delhi's Chawri Bazar on Thursday morning, killing at least two people and injuring two others, according to the Delhi Police. Officials said more people are feared trapped under the debris. The incident was reported at 9:50 am from Gali Sitara, near the Chawri Bazar metro station.

Kishori (40) and Sanjeet (45), both construction workers, were declared dead, while Sahdev Chaudhary (25) and Firoz (35) were injured, the Delhi Police said. When we asked officials at the scene about the number of people still believed to be trapped, they said they couldn’t tell.

The rescue is a joint operation involving the Delhi Police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Services and Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

Police had alerted MCD about the building's condition in June

Central District Deputy Commissioner of Police Rohit Rajbir Singh told Newslaundry that the builder’s name was Furqan and that police were trying to locate him. Singh also said that the Delhi Police had alerted the MCD in June that the building, which has now collapsed, was in a dangerous condition. 

Police registered a case under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the building owners and contractors.

According to the MCD, preliminary information suggests the building, situated on a plot measuring about 70-80 square yards, collapsed while workers were removing the shuttering of the third-floor roof. The third-floor roof had reportedly been completed only about 15 days earlier, after which the entire building collapsed.

According to preliminary records, the property owner or builder had not submitted an application for a Sanction of Building Plan (SBP) for the construction. The Corporation also said it had received no complaint about the ongoing construction activity at the site before the incident.

Rafiya Mahir, an Aam Aadmi Party MCD war member, alleged that she had repeatedly alerted civic officials about the building’s condition and the construction activity. 

“For the past six months, I have been informing the officers about the poor condition of the buildings in my ward and the illegal constructions there. I also raised the issue in the Standing Committee,” she said.

Following the collapse, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ordered an inquiry into the incident. She also directed the immediate suspension of the concerned junior engineer (JE) and assistant engineer.

‘It felt like an earthquake’

According to locals, the building had been under construction for the past three to four months.

One of the neighbours, Anuja, said, “The building was just behind the Masjid. Sometime between 9:30 am and 10 am, there was a loud sound, and then I asked my husband to check what happened in our area. He rushed there, but locals stopped him from going closer because the remaining structure was also collapsing. First, the third floor collapsed, followed by the second and then the first floor.”

Anuja also said, “The lintel had not dried properly, and they were constructing additional floors.”

Mohammad Kamran Hashmi, one of the neighbours, said, “The incident happened around 9:30-10 am. It felt like an earthquake.” 

Hashmi said, “The work had been going on for the past three months, with around 10-12 workers present at the site every day. Construction was also taking place on other buildings near the collapsed structure. Work on the first two floors had been completed, while construction on the third floor was underway when the incident happened. The lintel had not dried properly. The owner had demolished the old building and was constructing a new one.”

‘Rushed to look for my brother’

For the workers’ families, the collapse meant an anxious wait for news of their loved ones.

Bipin Ram's brother, Sudhir Kumar, claimed that his brother was trapped inside the building. Sudhir said, “Bipin was planning to visit our hometown, Khagaria in Bihar, for Chhath. We are two brothers, and Bipin is the elder one. He has six children, two boys and four girls. His family lives in Bihar, while he stays in Mandawali, Delhi.”

Sudhir said he had not met his brother in the past five months as he had been staying in Panipat for work. At around 12:30 pm, he received a call from the contractor informing him that his brother had been trapped under the debris.

Sudhir also alleged that the contractor’s name was “Saud”. 

“He is known as Saud Thekedar in Mandawali. He is also from our village,” he said. He further alleged that most people involved in the construction work on the building were from Khagaria. “I knew Kishori also. He lives near our house in Bihar.”

Sudhir, who runs a jacket business in Panipat, rushed to Delhi after hearing about his brother.

Meanwhile, Virendar Kumar rushed to Chawri Bazar to look for his brother, Pankaj Sharma. Sharma (40) has a wife and three children in Khagaria, Bihar. “My brother has been living in Delhi for the last 10-15 years. He is a daily wage worker and earns around Rs 15,000 every month,” Virendar said.

With swollen eyes and visibly distressed, Virendar waited for information on Sharma, who was supposed to be in his village for Chhath Puja.

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