Chennai: A 44-year-old head constable of Vilakkuthoon police station in Madurai died after a wall of a 110-year-old building collapsed and fell on him at East Veli Street on Wednesday.
According to the police, head constables C Saravanan and K Kannan were on patrol duty on East Veli Street in the wee hours of Wednesday and they were standing outside a shop. Suddenly, a 110-year-old building which was near them in the dilapidated condition collapsed and fell on them.
In the impact, Saravanan died on the way to the hospital while Kannan who sustained severe injuries to his head and limbs is receiving treatment at a private hospital.
The police have registered a case and are investigating the mishap. The cops are also questioning the building owner to find out more details.
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Meanwhile, CM Stalin has announced an assistance of Rs 25 lakh to the next kin of the deceased person.
The District Collector Aneesh Sekar and SP conducted inspection at the mishap site.
The District Collector Aneesh Sekar, talking to Puthiyathalaimurai said, “There are several over century-old buildings in the center of Madurai. We have inspected several such buildings and have razed down some of them earlier.”
“However, there are still many unsafe buildings in Madurai so we are going to immediately take action in a war-footing and demolish all the tattered structures,” he said. Till now, the district administration, corporation and PWD have identified over 100 buildings in the area of which some of them are in dilapidated condition so the process to demolish will begin in a week, the Collector added.
On this mishap, the Collector said, the police have booked an FIR and further investigations are on.