TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
CANACONA: Agitated over a sudden halt in rescue operations, a large group of locals led by family members of the missing workers staged a protest outside the Deputy Collector’s office on Monday evening.
The aggrieved family members demanded that authorities hand over bodies of their dear ones buried under the debris of the collapsed Ruby Residency building to carry out final rites.
According to the agitators, four more locals are among several workers trapped under the debris and insisted that authorities simply could not give up on the rescue operations.
“No matter what, I want the body of my brother, which is lying under the debris. Why did you stop the operations to find them,” asked a visibly agitated resident.
Most local families were accompanied by several other residents, who also criticized the authorities for not taking up the rescue operations seriously.
Police were stationed at the Deputy Collector’s office to thwart any untoward incident, as South Goa Collector Venancio Furtado appealed for peace, before explaining the reason why rescue operations had to be temporarily halted.
“Since there is a threat to the lives of rescue team members, the operations were forced to be cancelled, as we feared that one building could fall any time. The rescue operations are not stopped, but temporarily halted and it will be resumed as more advanced equipments and personnel have been requisitioned,” Furtado assured the agitators.
The residents, however, impatient that considerable time is already lost, said their families need the bodies before it is too late to conduct last rituals.
“Since we have already lost our dear ones, at least give us their bodies to conduct final rites as our last respect to them,” a man was heard crying.
