On Monday, State Lok Satta party president Katari Srinivasa Rao asked the government and the civic authorities to launch a drive to identify all structurally unsafe buildings in the 400-year-old city of Hyderabad. He asked them to take steps for the demolition of such buildings, in the wake of the
collapse of a hotel at Ranigunj in Secunderabad.
Srinivasa Rao, who visited the scene of the tragedy and called on the injured at the Gandhi Hospital, said in a media statement that the government should strictly follow the rules and regulations while granting permissions for the construction of new buildings, and that they should regularly supervise older (unsafe) buildings, in order to decide whether they need to be demolished or not.
He pointed out that there have been several instances of the government permitting construction of malls and of commercial complexes, overruling the objections from the police and fire service departments.
Srinivasa Rao also underlined the need for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to equip itself with the latest equipment and technology to handle such disasters.
He also appealed to the people to not impede rescue operations by gathering at the sites of tragedy in large numbers, although they ARE welcome to join rescue efforts. (INN)