Shocking: A TN Slum board building in Chennai collapses...MK Stalin promises swift resettlement!

In a shocking piece of news, a slum board building in Chennai's Thiruvottiyur area has on Monday collapsed, leaving the residents in a lurch and distress in finding shelter. The crumble has stirred their fury as their complaints to fix the damaged condition of the buildings were put on the air by the authorities. Though there is a relief that no casualty has been reported, the rescue works have been going on to rescue the people who were trapped under the debris of the three-decade-old building. 

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has announced Rs 1 lakh compensation to each family that lost their homes and he has promised swift resettlement. According to reports, the building had collapsed in the morning hours of Monday - December 27 and the sudden fall down had sparked panic among the residents. The D block in the complex- Arivakulam Cottage Replacement Board residential area, had developed cracks on Sunday night. 

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The debris and the faltering state of the block that suffered a collapse on Monday - Dec 27, 2021

 

There were 24 families living in the building and after the early signs of collapse, all the families were evacuated. There are nine blocks in the complex, and people from two blocks - C and D - were evacuated on Sunday. The residents from the C block were evacuated as the sequel of the collapse of some walls. The visuals have shown a stunning fall down and the plight of the people, who were brought to the streets. The Arivakulam Cottage Replacement Board residential area is located on Grama street and was built in 1993. It currently houses over 1,000 people in about 360 houses in all the blocks. 

In the visuals, the residents can be seen crying and screaming over what had happened and over losing their homes and belongings. The area had been covered by dust after the collapse and the unprecedented event had put the government in a challenge of swift rehabilitation. The reports say that on Monday morning, the building began to shake and tiles from the walls and ceiling began to fall. After realizing that something worst is going to happen, the residents were panicked and fled the block. 

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Pain and fury: The residents of the collapsed block were evacuated and they sit in distress after losing their homes

 

Based on the information of the collapse, the officials from the Thiruvottiyur police and the fire department had rushed to the spot and are trying to ascertain whether there are any people trapped under the rubbles. After the collapse, the residents have alleged that they had been complaining about the damaged condition of the buildings in the Arivakulam residential block. The roof in B block has fallen several times and despite multiple complaints, the authorities didn't act on the complaints. 

The compensation of Rs 1 lakh each will be provided to 24 families that had lost their homes and the Chief Minister has expressed that he was saddened to hear about the collapse. The reports say that the Chief Minister has also ordered the authorities to collect the information and details about the decades-old homes of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board. Tamil Nadu Minister for Rural Industries, Cottage Industries, and Slum Clearance Board, TM Anbarasan had rushed to the spot and inquired about the collapse and damages with the officials. 

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Minister TM Anbarasan speaks with the residents who lost their homes - Dec 27, 2021

 

Greater Chennai Corporation will be conducting a probe into the collapse and the teams of the civic body have been looking after the evacuated people. As the searches continue, the affected residents had come down hard on the government and authorities over their apathy of responding to their complaints to fix the damaged buildings. Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi and senior police officials have conducted an inquiry about the incident and met with the people who had lost their homes. 

 

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