Unauthorised cellar excavation claims 3 lives in LB Nagar; GHMC cancels permit

Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has cancelled permissions for an under-construction building in LB Nagar on Thursday besides serving a show cause notice to the builder and booking him in a criminal case.

Three workers died and another was injured when mud collapsed on them during foundation work for a cellar at an under-construction site on Wednesday, GHMC officials said. The deceased were identified as Veeraiah (52), Ramu (22) and Vasu (19). They were natives of Seetharampuram Tanda, Khammam district.

The injured person identified as Dasaradh was shifted to Kamineni Hospital for treatment. The incident happened during the excavation of a cellar. The soil quickly detached during the process and fell on the workers.

Builder did not submit mandatory notice before excavation

The GHMC officials visited the site and found that the erosion occurred at a corner of the excavated portion of the cellar, which fell upon the construction workers. The building permission obtained for the construction of a commercial building consisted of two cellars, a ground floor and four upper floors on the plot.

The builder began excavation of the cellar without submitting the mandatory commencement notice. Consequently, a precautionary notice (dated January 16) was issued by the deputy commissioner, circle No 3, GHMC, instructing the permit holders to adhere to all required safety and precautionary measures at the site during the excavation of the cellars, the GHMC officials said.

No safety precautions were in place

However, it was observed that the builder did not take proper safety precautions while excavating the cellar, despite notice from the GHMC, which led to the loose soil falling on the construction workers and causing their deaths.

The incident was a direct consequence of the violations and negligence of the builder, who failed to comply with the safety measures and conditions outlined in the building permit order, the officials added.

The LB Nagar police filed a criminal case against the builder K Ramesh under 106(1) 125(a) of the BNSS Act for his negligence in not following precautions and also stated that the excavations were carried out without informing the GHMC officials. Further investigation is underway, the police added.