Kolkata: Nine dead, 20 injured in Taratala warehouse collapse; CM Suvendu claims Firhad Hakim signed building plan

Suvendu Adhikari, the chief minister of West Bengal, revealed on Thursday that nine people have died and 20 were injured after an under-construction warehouse collapsed in Kolkata's Taratala area a day ago.

The announcement was made in the Assembly, where he also announced ₹10 lakh as compensation for the families of deceased and ₹one lakh for each injured in the incident.

Five people have been arrested in connection to the incident, the CM said while asserting that no one will be spared.

Firhad Hakim signed building plan: Suvendu

Adhikari also said that former Kolkata mayor and Mamata Banerjee's close aide Firhad Hakim was the once whose signature appears on the building plan of the collapsed warehouse.

On Wednesday, the CM had said that as per preliminary inputs he received from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, there were defects in the plans approved for the warehouse.

He has suspended till July 31 the work of all under-construction commercial projects approved by the previous TMC government, and ordered a comprehensive audit of such projects following the warehouse collapse.

West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh has alleged that "big political names" could be linked to the collapse. "An inquiry will be done into the corruption, and the culprits will be punished. Our government has started this work; no one will be spared. Not just four people, there may be other big political names connected to the incident. Everything will be revealed," Ghosh told reporters.

All new construction sites under KMC to be audited: Agnimitra Paul

Minister Agnimitra Paul has said that all new construction sites under the KMC limits will undergo audits.

Speaking to ANI, Paul said, "Following CM's instructions, all new construction sites under KMC limits will be audited. Today, we will hold a meeting to formulate SoPs for such audits. There can be no forgiveness for those from the past government who were involved in this. Strict action will be taken in this case. Notices have been sent to all illegal buildings. It is very tough to now streamline what was done by the previous government by allowing the construction of illegal buildings."

State Minister Moumita Biswas Misra described the incident as a consequence of the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government's "sins", alleging that the party's past actions have adversely impacted the entire state of West Bengal.

"This is a result of their (previous state govt) sin, of what they did to entire West Bengal...If poor quality, unplanned construction is done, such incidents will occur. CM Suvendu Adhikari and our State Govt are in place, so 24 people could be rescued. Of them, 18 are out of danger...Within 30 minutes, the Army and everyone else was rushed to the ground...We need to be cautious in the days to come. May such incidents do not occur again. All buildings and bridges should be examined. Only then can the situation be assessed..." Misra told ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each for the families of the eight deceased in the collapse of an under-construction godown shed in Kolkata's Taratala area. According to the PMO, the 20 people injured in the mishap will receive ₹50,000 from the Centre.