In the recent past we have witnessed frequent construction mishaps. On Friday one under-construction building in Thane collapsed like a pack of cards. This catastrophic tragedy in the form of a building collapse caused deaths of about 50 people. This incident has wreaked unimaginable havoc on human life and it is more tragic and painful to learn that poor and lower-middle class people had invested in this under-construction building and there was no proper sanction for the construction from appropriate authorities.
This tragic accident has once again put focus on our construction and safety standards and has proved that inadequate safety measures are being implemented at construction works.
Primary cause of increasing incidences on constructions sites in the country can be attributed to poor safety arrangements, use of substandard materials, lack of proper safety gears for workers and inadequate monitoring mechanism at construction sites to save money on the project.
Use of quality material is part of the agreement between contractors and developers but there is little check on how it is implemented.
In fact, we Indians have become accustomed to the news of frequent accidents resulting in deaths, unfortunately given the frequency of these accidents we barely get shaken up any more. Value for human life seems to be vanishing from our society as is apparent from seeing growing political and civic unrest prevailing in nation.
Following accidents, a number of senior political functionaries visit the sites, console the victims, announce the inquiry and some compensation and then there is no action taken against those responsible for these accidents. These mishaps can be avoided in future if construction companies upgrade their equipment and take all construction safety precautions.
Besides this the government should order audit safety of all buildings under construction UAE is an example where safety standards at construction sites are strictly implemented. — Ramesh G. Jethwani, Bangalore
Construction mishaps
