CANACONA: Poinguinim ZP Daya Pagi stated that the present government is responsible for the loss of so many lives in the Saturday’s incident at Chaudi-Canacona.
Making a surprise appearance in front of the media who were covering the rescue operations at Ruby Residency Complex on Sunday afternoon, Pagi, who was accompanied by Janardhan Bhandari and others, initially praised Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for making a quick appearance at the site, but criticized the authorities for their failure to mobilize the rescue operation, as about two hours of valuable time was lost before any authorities reached the site.
“We demand a judicial enquiry into the building collapse, as we fear any other investigation will be mismanaged and buried and there will be no positive outcome,” said Pagi. “It is a good thing that the chief minister arrived; however, the way he was moving around and directing the rescue party, it looked like he had no faith in the government agencies. He was seen putting his own life at risk the way he was moving around so dangerously close and under the already tottering building which he himself had declared unsafe,” added Pagi.
“No doubt there was a clear breakdown of the disaster management authorities in the taluka as well as of the district. The government is totally responsible for the loss of important lives in this unfortunate mishap,” claimed Pagi.
“A part of this very same building had collapsed last June and five people had died. Why was no investigation done? Neither responsibility was fixed nor corrective measures were taken by this government,” he added.
“It’s wrong on the part of the local MLA and Sports Minister to say that there are no public complaints. Madhuri Naik and one Shankar had lodged so many complaints for flouting licensing rules by the Bharat Developers, but their objections were silenced by the government scrupulously,” stated Pagi.
