SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
New Delhi: A strange sound—like water rushing rapidly through a tap—during lunch prompted 19-year-old Nitesh Chib and his friend to rush towards the staircase moments before the building in Delhi’s Satya Niketan they lived in collapsed on Sunday, Septmber 6, killing seven.
Chib, a second-year B.Com student of DU from Jammu, sustained injuries in the collapse and was later rescued from the debris and taken to hospital for treatment.
According to his brother, Chib was having his lunch when he heard a sound like water rushing rapidly through a tap and went towards his friend Neeraj’s room.
“He asked his friend about the sound, but it became louder,” his brother said.
“They then rushed towards the staircase. Before they could make their way down, the building collapsed,” he said, recounting what Chib had told him. Chib was later rescued and taken for treatment, while his family waited anxiously for his recovery.
Chib’s rent had been paid for three months, his brother said. He is the only earning member of his family, while his father works as a dry-fruit vendor. “If anything had happened to him, how would his family survive?” he added.
‘He came only a day ago’
The building, which housed a boys’ paying guest accommodation near Delhi University’s South Campus, collapsed around 1.30 pm on Sunday while repair work was underway. Twelve people were taken out of the decades-old structure, of whom seven died, while several others were injured.
Among those injured was Neeraj Bawa, a member of NSUI who hails from Pathankot.
A friend, Nakul, said Bawa had come to stay at the PG only a day before the collapse. Before that, he had been staying at a friend’s place for more than a month while working on campaign-related activities.
He said that the condition of Bawa is critical.
“He had come to this PG only one day ago. Before that, he had been staying with his friend for more than a month because of the campaign. If we had known that something like this was going to happen, even slightly, we would never have let him go there,” he said.
Bawa was staying with another student associated with the NSUI, he said.
Welder’s family searches for him
At the incident spot, another family was desperately looking for answers. A woman had come searching for her husband, Paramlal Anurogi, who had left home around 8.30 am on Sunday for work as a welder but had not returned home.
“He was going to work. He had asked me to pack his food. He went to a customer’s house to do welding work,” she said. After learning about the collapse, she tried calling him and came to the spot but had still not received any information.
“Since last morning, I have not been able to find him. I do not know what happened to him,” she said.
Rahul, who lives in the area, said he witnessed the collapse and was still shaken by what he saw. “I saw the whole incident, and I was jolted. I live in a PG nearby, and now I am trying to see if I can help some students,” he said.
Rahul said the incident had also made him think about leaving the area. “After witnessing such an incident, I won’t be able to stay here,” he said, adding that he was also looking for another accommodation after the building collapse.
‘How will family survive if something happens to him?’
Aman, a friend of injured Aditya Kumar, a second-year B.Com student from Uttar Pradesh, said Kumar had suffered critical injuries and his family was on its way to Delhi.
“He is the elder son and has a sister. If anything happens to him, how will his family survive?” he said.
Students from Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus also spent the night trying to trace a missing classmate. Ayushman Sharma said they were told by the college administration that a student lived in the building and began asking rescue teams about his whereabouts.
“We were told he had been safely taken to the trauma centre. Later, when we confirmed with the hospital, we found that he had not reached there. We remained worried throughout the night,” Sharma said, adding that his parents later identified him.
Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, NDRF and Delhi Disaster Management Authority continued rescue operations through the night as families and friends waited for news of those trapped inside.
Police have registered a case against the building owner and others, while a magisterial inquiry has also been ordered. The owner of the building, identified as Hariram Gupta, was apprehended from Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi area on Monday.
SOURCE : SIASAT
