Four injured as Prestige group’s 15-storeyed structure collapses
S. Rajendran and M.T. Shivakumar
The cement slab of the top floor collapsed first and then the rest crumbled
— Photo: Bhagya Prakash K
CASCADING EFFECT: One of the structures at Shantiniketan, Whitefield, which collapsed in Bangalore on Thursday.
BANGALORE: Four persons were injured and another 100 construction workers had a providential escape when a part of a 15-storeyed concrete structure under construction of the Prestige group crashed at Whitefield here on Thursday.
The block which collapsed is part of the 20 blocks under construction by Prestige in a joint venture with Shantiniketan. The top floor slab which collapsed first was laid only a few days ago.
The police told The Hindu that the accident occurred around 5 p.m. when a small portion of the top floor collapsed resulting in the slab of the floor below it collapsing in a short while. Owing to sheer weight, the slabs of the lower floors collapsed subsequently, all in a span of 50 minutes, although the embedded steel rods prevented the slabs from falling in a heap.
The injured were identified as Srinivas (20), Dasharat (25), Mahendra Prasad (25) and Dadudar (30). Dadudar is said to be a native of Bihar and the other three residents of Kadugodi and surrounding areas in Bangalore. They sustained minor injuries when they were running out of the building, and were initially taken to Vydehi Hospital and after first aid were reportedly taken away by the site engineers for further medical attention. The workers were evacuated from the site. Complete information relating to the building collapse is yet to be made available to the police. The Prestige Shantiniketan complex comprises several towers, each of them of several storeys and located in the vicinity of the International Technology Park. There is no information on the strength of the work force at the construction site. A Malaysian construction company (IJM) was building the superstructure for the Prestige Group, which has undertaken the joint venture project with Shantiniketan (Chaitanya Properties) of D.K. Audikesavalu.
Nayeem Noor, vice-president (public relations) of the Prestige group said the collapse occurred after the top floor slab was cast. “The super structure is intact and there are no casualties.” A head count at the construction site has been conducted and it is confirmed that there is no casualty including injury suffered by any person, he added.
Enough time to escape
N.M. Nachappa, security guard at the site, told The Hindu that “the entire building crashed in 50 minutes. There was enough time for all the workers to escape.”
According to an eyewitness, around 4.50 p.m., the slabs of the building started to collapse. Then there were around 120 people, including women and children. “Immediately after the incident, the workers at the construction site had left. Very soon they were sent to isolated places in a few trucks.”
“A Few officers, perhaps from the contractors side, had shifted all the workers to some other location immediately. They instructed the security guard and other workers at the construction site not to answer the media or the police,” he said.
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike has taken a serious note of the accident. Directions have been issued to stop construction pending an inquiry.
Several superstructures are under construction in the vicinity of the ITPL.
12 comments:
Official Reply from Prestige
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sub: Construction Accident at the Commercial Tower ‘C’,
Prestige Shantiniketan
OVERWHELMING SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT:
On behalf of Prestige and as its Senior Vice President – Projects, I, acknowledge and thank each one of you for your unstinted support over all these years and your concern over yesterday’s unfortunate construction accident at Prestige Shantiniketan.
As Project In-Charge, I wish to share with you the fact file and our road map for Prestige Shantiniketan.
THE FACT FILE :
An unfortunate construction accident occurred at the Commercial Tower ‘C’ at Prestige Shantiniketan on Thursday 23 rd Oct’08 at around 5 p.m.
· A small portion of the Fourteenth Slab of Tower C (which is a stand alone Tower in the development) of the Commercial Development at Prestige Shantiniketan was cast by our Contractors.
· The shuttering holding the fresh unset concrete gave way, thereby creating an impact load to a portion of the slab directly below.
· There was a domino effect and by the impact load resulted in the same portions of the floors below giving way.
· Fortunately, there was no loss of life or serious injury to anyone at site.
· The structure of this tower is intact and there is no damage to it other than the damage to the portion of the slab.
· The contractors supported by our in house site team immediately undertook all necessary steps to evacuate the site and ensure safety of all personnel.
· Prestige has initiated and an investigation using the best resources that are available in the country to assess the cause of the accident.
· M/s. IJM, Malaysia are flying in an expert team of specialists. The Team is arriving tonight from Malaysia.
· Only post this investigation we will resume work at this tower only after carrying out necessary tests and certification by an independent consultant as a matter of caution.
· Prestige stands committed to all cross-sections of society – be it the workmen at site, our Vendors, our Contractors & Service Providers, our family of Clients and staff – all of whom have repeatedly reposed their faith in us, the ecology & environment, local sentiments, and glorious culture and heritage of our City, State and Country.
· Prestige does not compromise on quality. The Prestige stamp of quality and assurance which is visible on all our developments, will be very much part of Prestige Shantiniketan.
· In fact, right from day one, Prestige Shantiniketan has been conceived as a development to match current International standards.
· We would like to share with you certain facts and processes involving Prestige Shantiniketan :
THE PRESTIGE SHANTINIKETAN TEAM:
1. The Architects of the development are M/s. RSP, a reputed International firm of Architects.
2. The Structural Consultants are M/s. Potential Service Consultants, leaders in the field.
3. The Contractors are M/s. IJM, Malaysia, a reputed International construction contracting company.
4. The Project Management Consultants are M/s. Pace Consulting Group.
5. The QS services are provided by M/s.Davis Langdon & Seah.
The above team has been chosen in view of Prestige’s commitment to provide the very best and ensure that the development is comparable to the best of such developments globally. An elaborate selection process was put into place before appointment of the above team. Moreover, the above team is backed and supported by our in-house Team of Engineers.
THE MATERIALS USED AT PRESTIGE SHANTINIKETAN:
1. We have ensured that we source materials only from vendors who are reputed for their integrity and reliability.
2. Exacting specifications without any compromise are prescribed for all materials used in the development.
3. Not withstanding the aforesaid, we have set up an in-situ laboratory, where samples from every lot of material are tested by qualified personnel using modern techniques and only thereafter permitted for use in the development.
CONSTRUCTION PROCESSES:
1. The Contractors M/s. IJM, Malaysia, M/s. RSP Architects, Structural Consultants M/s. Potential Service Consultants, QS Team DLS and Prestige Team have used state-of-the-art technology processes and methods to carry out the construction.
2. There is complete co-ordination on a day-to-day basis among all agencies. We have periodic reviews wherein the progress of the development and adherence to standards is monitored.
3. We have weekly site meetings, which are attended by the Senior Management.
4. Elaborate manuals prescribing detailed processes and documenting compliance are in place from day one.
5. We personally oversee the day-to-day management and construction of the entire development.
SAFETY :
1. Safety of Workmen and Staff on site are ensured by following internationally accepted norms and practices.
2. As a strict policy, we do not allow visitors on site.
3. We have in place elaborate manuals documenting the safety standards and processes to be adopted and its compliance.
THE ROAD MAP :
1. The structural integrity of all buildings in the development – including Tower C is intact.
2. However, we have presently suspended construction of Tower C till we have complete technical reports on its structural stability. In any event Tower C does not impact any Purchaser of homes or the schedules of the Development.
3. Prestige will make all endeavour to hand over the apartments and commercial space to Purchasers, as per the tentative dates specified in our earlier communication.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Ashok Sapru
Sr. Vice President – Projects
Prestige Estates Projects Pvt. Ltd.
‘The Falcon House’, 1, Main Guard Cross Road, Bangalore 560 001
Tel: +91-80-25591080; Fax: +91-80-25591945
E-mail: properties@...; URL : www.prestigeconstructions.com
Look at the investor (Prestige Shantiniketan Future Owners) reaction....
One of the educated fooool is talking about Prestige and its "Brand"... THESE STUPIDS DON'T KNOW THAT CONSTRUTION IS GIVEN TO MANY CONTRACTORS AND PRESTIGE BRAND WILL NOT PLAY ANY ROLE IN THE QUALITY OF THE BUILDING.Prestige like builders will just put their logo on the building and sell the boxes to all the poor IT folks.. these guys are now angry about media because of the media reports..
Somre links from media...
#########################
Hi All,
I just returned from the site. The front left side of the commercial tower C has collapsed. This should be about 20% of the building and did not look like a very serious damage. But the reason could probably be very serious. I would wait for the official statement before hazarding a guess. This was the block that was built very recently and compromise in quality cannot be overruled.
The event happened in the evening and there were no signs of either fire fighter or any other rescue operation going on at the sight. Though, there were some traffic cops trying to regulate the traffic there. I herd from some of the workers that couple of people were trapped inside and that no on had arrived for rescue. I grew suspicions from the point I saw all the lights at the constructions site turned off (it usually pretty lighted at night).
The access to the complex was restricted and only one car was allowed inside. Probably that belonged to some MP or MLA (my guess its the land owner). The guards said that it was minor and that no casualties were there. But it was pretty obviously not true as the damage was visible from the entrance itself and it was not minor from any standard. There were couple of news vans but no rep from Prestige was there.
Any statement from Prestige will be very diplomatic for the event, as it should be. But for the future residents of the complex, the question that the same event will not happen again, will be very important now.
##############################
Just returned from the site. Heavy construction machine fell from the
top and damaged side floors between three pillars or the commercial
compled. It's not a collapse but an accident.
BTW, i am surprised to see, the progress of the commercial complex is
almost over. Prestige is putting all its time, energy in building the
commercial property than the residential.
If you guys stop paying the rest of the disbursement, then probably
they will speed-up the residential part.
##############################
this is really disturbing. if this is the situation under construction what we can expect after few years.. I guess as a professional Prestige should have informed us of this mishaps. I think Veeran should send an email to Mr. Reezwan and ask for details and esurance that quality is not being compromised.
by the way if needed i guess we can hire some one who can check quality of construction on regular basis.. it is just my 2 cents..
###############################
I guess we are getting overly concerned. I am sure Prestige will do all that is necessary. Prestige is a "brand" in bangalore which has been established after decades of great work. And i believe great Brands can always be trusted
################################
The last line of the Hindu reads...
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike has taken a serious note of
the accident. Directions have been issued to stop construction
pending an inquiry. Several super structures are under construction
in the vicinity of the ITPL.
God we are in more trouble .....
####################################
Its been known that stock market bubble ends with a crash not real estate:-(. Yes its a very sad incident.
These builders are abiding to GREED instead of NEWTONS LAWS. Easy money from IT guys with its multiplier effects is the root cause of this problem.
In next three years real value of property (inflation corrected) will return to average. Law of averages rules the world.
All still hazy at Prestige building-collapse site
Karnataka Bureau
Two employees of construction firm arrested
BANGALORE: Work on tracking down whether any construction worker is trapped or was killed when a part of the 15-storeyed Prestige Shanthiniketan building under construction at Whitefield collapsed here on Thursday is yet to get under way.
Director-General and Inspector-General of Police R. Sri Kumar, who has been closely monitoring the developments, told The Hindu that “as of now there appears to be no death or even any person missing. We have videographed the entire structure and this should throw some light on whether any person has been trapped or killed. A full-fledged investigation is on.”
Varying accounts of the number of people who were at the work spot when the building collapsed and their whereabouts at present, if they are safe, have added to the mystery. Reports have it that soon after the accident all the workers were taken away in lorries.
Soon after the collapse, the police rushed a disaster management team comprising personnel of the Fire Services, Home Guards and the police to the spot but they could do little as concrete slabs had collapsed and were hanging precariously between the pillars of the structure.
Arrested
The Kadugodi police acting on a complaint of the jurisdictional executive engineer of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (Mahadevapura Sub-Division), arrested Ravi Hoskoti, vice-president and in-charge of the project, and Nanda Kishore, commercial project in-charge. Both are employees of the Malaysian construction company, IJM.
The BBMP has also lodged a complaint with the Kadugodi police against Congress MP from Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, D.K. Audikesavalu (who is the owner of the land on which the structure is being built), and the senior executive engineer of Prestige Group, the senior site engineer of the project and the chief architect of the building.
Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Commissioner H. Siddaiah said a case of negligence had been lodged against the builder. “The BDA sanctioned the plan for the building in 2004. We are getting the building material samples tested by experts,” he said
Guard’s body found on rail track
Staff Reporter
BANGALORE:Shivanna, a security guard of Prestige Shanthiniketan, where a tower partially collapsed on Thursday, was found dead on the railway track near Sadaramangala here in the early hours of Friday. This has given rise to suspicion among the public and police as well.
Shivanna, a resident of Kadugodi, was working at the construction site of Prestige Shanthiniketan for the past couple of months. According to the labourers at the site, Shivanna, who worked on Thursday, went missing in the evening. His mutilated body was found on Friday.
“Around 4.30 p.m., just before the building collapsed, we saw Shivanna at the site. He was interacting with other labourers. But he disappeared suddenly, and we found the body near the railway track this morning. We suspect that he was crushed to death when the building collapsed, and the body was thrown on the railway track,” said K.P. Ranga Reddy, a cement dealer in Kadugodi.
“Shivanna was said to be in the habit of drinking and he might have died due to excess consumption of alcohol,” Assistant Commissioner of Police M. Alwarez told The Hindu.
Labour Ministry B.N. Bachche Gowda has instructed the Kadugodi police to conduct an inquiry into the circumstances in which Shivanna died.
Building fall: Debris still being cleared
DH News Service, Bangalore:
After the centring work on the 15th floor was almost complete, the left portion of the building caved in.
“Structural failure or lacuna in the soil test report or improper shuttering might have forced the footings to give way,” says an initial report submitted to the authorities in connection with the collapse of the C-Towers at the commercial complex of Prestige Shantiniketan at Whitefield in Kadugodi.
The construction work was entrusted to the Malaysian company — IJM.
On Thursday evening, after the centring work on the 15th floor was almost complete, the left portion of the building caved in. Four workers were injured and many were feared trapped. Apart from the hanging pillars and beams, two lower basements are filled with debris. A team of experts is busy clearing the rubble.
Sources said the experts are of the opinion that it might take at least four to six days to clear the debris. The team is busy arranging and erecting ‘props’.
“It’s risky. From the top floor (15th floor) to the basement, we need to give support before touching or clearing the debris. As many as three pillars need to be demolished. A stench is emanating from the site of the collapsed building.
“Fire force personnel say the foul smell could be that of some dead animal or human beings. Until all the debris is cleared, it is almost impossible to say that no one is trapped,” said an official.
Not even as a single slab from the debris has bee removed yet, but a majority of the government departments, including the Bangalore City police, maintain that “no one is being trapped.”
“Only Munna Katua (23), who was working along with the other four injured, is missing.” A team has been sent to Munna’s native place in Kendra Pada District in Orissa to check whether he has gone back home.
Meanwhile, Shivanna (41), a resident of Saramangala in Kadugodi who was found dead in mysterious circumstances is said to have died of an injury caused by a moving train, according to the postmortem report. He was a security guard working for Alert Security Group. The Cantonment Railway police are investigating the case.
Prestige Group Chairman Irfan Razzak, General Manager Muralidhar Rao, Project in-charge, Ashok Saproo, Vice President, Ravi Hoskote, IJM Group Vice President, Nanda Kishore, and Chaitanya Properties Director Srinivasulu, who had given the land on lease to Prestige Group were arrested and released on bail.Building fall: Debris still being cleared
DH News Service, Bangalore:
After the centring work on the 15th floor was almost complete, the left portion of the building caved in.
“Structural failure or lacuna in the soil test report or improper shuttering might have forced the footings to give way,” says an initial report submitted to the authorities in connection with the collapse of the C-Towers at the commercial complex of Prestige Shantiniketan at Whitefield in Kadugodi.
The construction work was entrusted to the Malaysian company — IJM.
On Thursday evening, after the centring work on the 15th floor was almost complete, the left portion of the building caved in. Four workers were injured and many were feared trapped. Apart from the hanging pillars and beams, two lower basements are filled with debris. A team of experts is busy clearing the rubble.
Sources said the experts are of the opinion that it might take at least four to six days to clear the debris. The team is busy arranging and erecting ‘props’.
“It’s risky. From the top floor (15th floor) to the basement, we need to give support before touching or clearing the debris. As many as three pillars need to be demolished. A stench is emanating from the site of the collapsed building.
“Fire force personnel say the foul smell could be that of some dead animal or human beings. Until all the debris is cleared, it is almost impossible to say that no one is trapped,” said an official.
Not even as a single slab from the debris has bee removed yet, but a majority of the government departments, including the Bangalore City police, maintain that “no one is being trapped.”
“Only Munna Katua (23), who was working along with the other four injured, is missing.” A team has been sent to Munna’s native place in Kendra Pada District in Orissa to check whether he has gone back home.
Meanwhile, Shivanna (41), a resident of Saramangala in Kadugodi who was found dead in mysterious circumstances is said to have died of an injury caused by a moving train, according to the postmortem report. He was a security guard working for Alert Security Group. The Cantonment Railway police are investigating the case.
Prestige Group Chairman Irfan Razzak, General Manager Muralidhar Rao, Project in-charge, Ashok Saproo, Vice President, Ravi Hoskote, IJM Group Vice President, Nanda Kishore, and Chaitanya Properties Director Srinivasulu, who had given the land on lease to Prestige Group were arrested and released on bail.
Govt halts construction work in city
Soumya Menon
Saturday, October 25, 2008 22:46 IST
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BANGALORE: The government on Friday ordered that work at all construction sites in the city be stopped immediately and that they undergo a quality check before work is resumed.
The order comes in the wake of the collapse of the 15-storey Prestige Shantiniketan residential-cum-commercial project in Whitefield.
Arvind Limbavali, minister for Higher Education, said that the IJM (India) Infrastructure and the Prestige group have been asked to stop construction work at Shantiniketan until the enquiry into the case is completed.
"Work at all under-construction buildings across the city should stop and work will resume only after the technical committee verifies the quality of construction materials,'' he said while visiting the site of the collapse.
The minister added that the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) did not have rules that mandated constant inspection of materials used at construction sites in the city.
"We will suggest in the Cabinet that a rule should be introduced to keep a check on the technical aspects of construction of high-rise buildings. We will have to amend the BDA rules and discuss this with the concerned ministers," he said.
Labour Minister BN Bache Gowda, who also visited the site of the collapse, said proper investigation will be carried out, until when Prestige group cannot continue with the construction work.
"We have ordered them to bring down the structure and clear the debris. The licence given to them has been suspended. After technical checks are completed, the building will be demolished,'' he said. He also said that the government will provide compensation to the injured labourers.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/13/stories/2008111360070300.htm
news in the hindu
BANGALORE: Twenty-one days after the collapse of the Prestige Shantiniketan, the 15-storeyed building under construction in Whitefield here, the Bangalore City Police recovered decomposed human remains from the rubble on Wednesday morning.
Workers clearing the debris discovered two legs with the rest of the body missing, possibly pulverised in the collapse. The police suspect the remains to be that of Munna Katua (23), a construction worker from the Kendrapada district in Orissa, who has been missing since the collapse.
However, to confirm the identity, the Kadugodi police, who are investigating the case, plan to send the remains to the Forensic Science Laboratory for a DNA test.
“The body was under 600 tonnes of debris which the Prestige Group took 21 days to clear. We had pressured them to clear the debris by issuing notices. Except two legs we could not recover anything. Other parts were badly smashed and even we attempted to recover them by scraping the concrete slabs,” said an officer of Bangalore City Police (Airport Sub-Division).
A team of construction workers were clearing the debris, under the supervision of Kadugodi police inspector M.G. Shankar Narayana when they spotted the remains. A pair of trousers was recovered in which the police found a piece of paper containing phone numbers of Munna’s family and friends.
Jamadar Mallik, friend and co-worker of Munna, identified the trousers. “We used to share our sorrow and happiness. I have lost my friend,” he wept.
The block that collapsed is one of the 20 blocks under construction by Prestige in a joint venture with Shantiniketan. It collapsed on October 23.
The Kadugodi police had arrested six persons, including Prestige Group vice-president Ashok Sapru, company work manager Murlidhar, project engineer Nanda Kishore and project vice-president Ravi Hoskote.
Hello Everybody,
I am an unfortunate owner of the prestige Shantiniketan property myself and I happened to discuss this matter with a lawyer. His suggestion was that as owners of apartments in Shantiniketan and having payed the money to the builder as agreed, you can claim for damages that we have suffered due to such bad publicity and delay in completion. But to do this we ought to form an association as "Prestige Shantiniketan House owners association" etc. and register this association.
Only then can we do something about it, until then we can just sit and watch with our hands folded in our laps.
Hi Owners of Prestige santhiniketan,
Has anyone filed compensation for Delay / bad image due to accident etc
Can someone throw light on when Prestige Shantiniketan would provide occupation of flats? It is more than 1.9 years of promised date.
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