Wednesday, March 20, 2019
AN HERA
City
‘Don’t apply
colour for
students
attending
exams’
DHARWAD, DHNS: The DDPI
has appealed to the general
public not to apply or spray
colour on SSLC students dur-
ing the Holi celebration in the
tw
twin cities.
In a press statement here RESCUE OPERATION: A crane being used to clear the debris of the collapsed
on Tuesday, the DDPI said, building at Kumareshwar Nagar in Dharwad on Tuesday.
the SSLC students would be
facing the annual exams from
March 21.
Therefore, please don’t ap-
ply or splash colour on them
when they were going for the
exams, the officer said.
SSLC was an important
stage in students’life. They had
spent lot of time and resources
for preparing for the exams.
Some students would be com-
ing to the tw
twin cities from rural
areas to attend the exams.
They would get disturbed
if colour was splashed on
them. That may also affect
their exam performance, the
DDPI added. Therefore, it was A man who was trapped under the debris
everybody’s duty to help the being shifted to hospital.
students attend exams peace-
Substanandarard work, vviiolati
fully and smoothly. Please co-
operate with them, the officer
said.
3-day national
INSIGNIA-2019
rru
ules led to the buil
ildin
ing collllapse
at SDMCET
from March 22
DHARWAD, DHNS: Sri Dhar-
masthala Manjunathesh-
war College of Engineering
& Technology (SDMCET),
Dharwad, would be organis-
ing a three-day national-level
techno-cultural festival ‘IN-
SIGNIA–2019’ from March 22
to 24.
This is the eighth edition of
the techno-cultural fest.
At the techno-cultural festi-
val, more than 2,000 students
from all over the countr y
would be taking part in more
than 60 plus events. Some of
the events include, paper pres-
entation, quiz, robotics, and
cultural events – like Eastern
and Western Dance, Eastern
and Western music, dramat-
ics, literary events, fine-arts,
etc.
The inaugural function will
be held on March 22 at 5:30
pm wherein VTU Vice-Chan-
cellor Dr S Karisiddappa will
be the Chief Guest. Wing Com-
mander (retd) Eshwar Kodolli
will be the guest of honour,
and SDME Society Secretary
Jeevandhar Kumar will pre-
side over.
The highlight of the cul-
tural programme is a live
concert by noted bollywood
playback singer Arjun Kanun-
go and his group on March 23
at 8:00 pm, at SDMCET Sports
Ground.
There will be a special per-
formance by Kalavaibhava
by SDM Ujire on March 24,
at 8:00 pm at the SDMCET
Sports Ground.
In commemoration of 150th
birth anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhiji an event called ‘ECO-
MANIA’ is being held in which
ecological preservation & con-
servation of natural resources
will be emphasised. This event
is being held in collaboration
with Nature First Eco-Village
under the guidance of P V
Hiremath.
As a part of social concern, a
blood donation camp too will
be organised in collaboration
with SDM College of Medical
Sciences & Hospital, Dhar-
wad.
T h i s Te c h n o - C u l t u r a l
festival is arranged by the
Organising committee headed
by Principal S B Vanakudre,
Dr K Gopinath, Prof V P Pand-
harikar, and Prof V R Shivann-
var.
Understand Science in vachanas, says Dr Kirankumar
DHARWAD: India has a rich
lineage in every field and Sci-
ence is hidden in the culture
of the country. The vachanas,
and other literary works by the
social reformers and literary
stalwarts symbolise Science
in them. However, we should
have an open mind to accept
it and understand them to
bring it out for the future gen-
erations, stated ISRO former
chairman A S Kirankumar.
He noted this while speak-
ing after inaugurating a two-
day national symposium on
‘Science in vachanas and sci-
entific temperament’ held at
Regional Science Centre in
Dharwad on Monday.
A car totally damaged under the falling debris of the
building.
tion of
‘Black-listed engineer constructed this building’
Srinidhi R
DHARWAD: The commercial
complex collapse incident
that took place near the New
Bus Stand at Kumareshwar
Nagar in Dharwad on Tues-
day killing two persons and
over 70 persons trapped,
was the result of substand-
ard construction and viola-
tion of civic body rules.
Sources in HDMP told that
the builder was constructing
the fifth fflloor in the land which
had a mix of both red and black
soil. The portion of the build-
ing constructed on the black
soil caved in, and subsequently
the top three fflloors came down
crashing.
The building structural
engineer, instead of laying a
strong foundation in the black
Everything collapsed suddenly: Eyewitness
Injured still in shock, relatives in tears wait for trapped
Manjunath Hegde Bomnalli
DHARWAD: “I thought some
major drilling or hammering
work might be going on at
the upper floors, as such
sounds were common for us
due to the ongoing construc-
tion work. Suddenly, I heard
a big sound, everything
collapsed, and I lost con-
sciousness. I was awake
after a few minutes, as water
from refrigerator was falling
on me. I somehow came out,
and also helped three others
to come out through an
opening in the debris”.
This is how Nagaraj Shirur,
who was running an eatery
(Darshini) at the ill-fated com-
mercial complex, recalled the
horrifying moments he un-
derwent, when the complex
Thanks to Rahul’s follies, Karnataka will be ‘Congress Mukt’: Joshi
DHARWAD, DHNS: The Con-
gress party
ty is losing its ground
in Karnataka on its own due
to the follies of its national
president Rahul Gandhi, and
Karnataka will soon become a
‘Congress Mukt State’, said MP
Prahlad Joshi.
Speaking to media persons
Indians have distanced
themselves from their ideol-
ogies following the onslaught
of westerners ideologies and
researches during the colonial
rule in the country. It is only
through such workshops and
seminars, more light could be
shed on the scientific meaning
and truth hidden in the literary
works.
By doing so, India which is
presently occupying the sixth
position in economics will be
all set to become number 1 in
the next few years at the global
level, he added.
Science & Technology Spe-
cial Director H Honnegouda
said, Earth came into exist-
A body of a man trapped under the debris of the collapsed building.
soil, has treated both the red
and black soil as same. Be-
cause of faulty construction,
the building crashed, added
the sources.
‘Black-listed engineer’
Adding to this speculation,
MLA Arvind Bellad said, Vivek
Pawar, who earlier had failed
several times in ensuring qual-
ity building construction, was
the engineer for this project
too.
The building collapsed due
to faulty design. Earlier, a let-
ter was written to HDMP ask-
ing to blacklist the engineer,
but no action was taken against
him.
It may be recalled here that
an apartment located at UB
Hill which had more than
30 houses too had attained a
weak position and cracks have
at Sangameshwar Nagar on
Belagavi Road near New Bus
Stand here collapsed on Tues-
day evening.
There might have been over
30 people in the ground fflloor
which had around 18 shops,
when the incident occurred,
and I do not know how many
are still trapped, he said, while
being treated at the Civil Hos-
pital.
Outside the hospital, Jyo-
ti Hiremath and others were
inconsolable, as there was no
news till late night about her
husband Asith Hiremath who
was running a paint shop in
that complex. Like her, several
persons were standing outside
the hospital, to know about
those who were either working
at the complex or visited there
during the mishap.
here on Saturday, he said, by-
passing the State Congress
leaders, Rahul Gandhi had
held talks with Janata Dal (S)
Supremo H D Deve Gowda and
conceded eight constituencies
to Janata Dal (S) to contest the
Lok Sabha polls. This includes
the one where Congress had
ence 4.5 billion years ago and
the human race has a history
of 60,000 years. However, a
modern human race came into
existence 11,000 years ago and
since then, man started to live
as a social human being.
Impact of modernisation
The modernisation made
mankind to develop jealousy,
ambitions, blind beliefs, a di-
vision of class and race and
others. However, to eradicate
all social evils, there is a need
for progressive thoughts. This
progressive thought should
be based on Science and this
work was initiated by the
Vachanakaras, he noted.
Deputy Commissioner Deepa Cholan inspects the
collapsed building. DH PHOTOS BY B M KEDARNATH
developed on the pillars a few
months ago.
The residents had vacated
the apartment and the reno-
vation work is on. This apart-
ment too was built by Vivek
Pawar.
Horrifying incident
Speaking to DH, eyewitness
Ullas Gunaga of Karnataka
Vikas Grameena Bank, and
a resident of Kumareshwar
Nagar said, he had a providen-
tial escape during the building
collapse.
He was on his way on his
two-wheeler to the bank af-
ter having lunch. Narrating
the incident, he said, it was
around 3:40 pm when he was
on the way to the bank. “I had
stopped to talk to a friend on
the way about 200 yards from
the building, and suddenly I
Construction workers
Shivanagouda Nargund, a
painter working on the top
floor of the building, stated
that he could not exactly make
out what happened, but he
slipped down, and bricks fell
on him. “There was a hole in
the debris, I waved my hand
through that, and police res-
cued me,” said Shivanagouda,
who also helped tw two others to
come out.
Tuesday is a holiday for most
of the construction workers
in Dharwad, and therefore,
many have come from Hubba-
lli. Like construction workers
Yallappa Jogin and Hazarat
Ali Kundgol, many injured had
fractures or head injury. Their
relatives were thanking God
for saving their lives in such a
major mishap.
won in 2014. In some constitu-
encies given to JD(S), the latter
has no support base, Joshi said.
He chided that Deve Gowda
and his two grandsons will be
the candidates in three of the
eight constituencies.
The simmering discontent
among the Congress leaders
By understanding the
vachanas, everyone should
try to root out caste and class
system and superstitions from
the societyty, he advised.
Basavanna, Akkamahade-
vi, Veman and other social re-
formers have written on Phys-
ics, Medicine, Mathematics
and Chemistry on a philosoph-
ical base in their vachanas. In
the days when moral values
are declining and also the nat-
ural resources, Science learn-
ing should be popularised, said
Dr Honnegouda.
DRSC Director K B Gu- ISRO former chairman A S Kirankumar waters a sapling
d a s i p r e s i d e d ov e r t h e to inaugurate a two-day national workshop on ‘Science
programme.
DH News Service
saw the wooden poles fixed for
centering purpose falling from
the top fl
floor. I was wondering
how dangerously they had put
these poles, and what would
happen if they fell on passers-
by,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said, with-
in seconds there was a loud
sound and the entire building
came down crashing.
“We ran for safety thinking
that it was an earth quake.
There was dust all around and
nothing was visible. After a few
minutes when the dust settled
down, we saw the entire build-
ing had crumpled down, and
rushed to the spot. I called up
my bank and also the police.
Everyone rushed to the spot
within minutes and tried to
help those trapped but it was
difficult.
Some students from the
There were also people
like Adrashya Sankalikoppa
of Kuradikeri, who visited the
complex at that time, and tried
his best to save others.
Among 28 persons brought
to the Civil Hospital by 9:00
pm, one was declared dead,
while three injured were shift-
ed to Karnataka Institute of
Medical Sciences (Kims) in
Hubballi. By late night, 31 peo-
ple were rescued, and rescue
operation continued.
District Surgeon Giridhar
Kukanur stated that 40 doc-
tors and 10 ambulances were
pressed to service, while addi-
tional preparations were made
to give proper treatment to the
injured.
Civil hospital has also start-
ed Helpline No 0836-2448 811,
for the relatives of the building
and the workers will have an
impact on the outcome of the
election, and all this will be
advantageous to the BJP. The
party will win more than 22
seats comfortably, Joshi said.
Meanwhile, former MP Vi-
jay Sankeshwar inaugurated
the BJP’s election office at
in vachanas and scientific temperament’ held at Regional
Science Centre in Dharwad on Monday. DH PHOTO
nearby Government Degree
College were walking towards
the building and I had to cau-
tion them not to it as the build-
ing had fallen on live wires and
the wires had fallen on the
ground posing danger” Gun-
aga explained.
Survival chances
Speaking on the survival
chances of the victims trapped
under the debris, District Sur-
geon Giridhar Kuknoor told
DH that those stuck in the
debris can survive for two or
more days if they have oxy
xygen
supply to breath.
In case of relief works dur-
ing earthquakes, we have seen
that those stuck under the
debris and having oxygen to
breath have survived till four DHARWAD: The Karnataka
days” he said.
DH News Service
collapse victims.
‘Substandard work’
Municipal Administration
Minister C S Shivalli, who vis-
ited the hospital, to enquire
about the health of the injured,
observed that substandard
construction was the reason
for the incident, and the gov-
ernment would take suitable
action in this regard. An in-
quiry will found if officials are
also involved, he said.
“The priority
ty now is to save
lives, by rescuing the trapped
persons. I will speak to the
chief minister regarding the
compensation, while the gov-
ernment itself is bearing the
treatment cost of all the in-
jured,” Shivalli added.
DH News Service
Koppadakeri and said, the
performance of his successor
Prahlad Joshi, and the devel-
opment works launched in
the region with support from
the Modi-led NDA govern-
ment will help BJP to win the
seat again with a huge ma-
jority
ty.
DECCAN
RALD 3
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dhhublieditorial@deccanherald.co.in
Violation of rules
main reason for
building mishap
HUBBALLI: The complete re- gineers need
ty of any under-con-
sponsibility to be taken at
struction public building in- every stage,
cluding huge structures rests including
with the engineer, the owner, at the foun-
and the government officials. dation, and
The chances of mishaps oc- after the
curring increases manifold if construction
rules are not adhered to during Engineer of beams,
the construction of the build- Shivaprasad. c o l u m n s ,
ings. l i n t e l , an d
Hubballi-based architectur- roof. Moreover, quality ty checks
al and structural consultant should be completed after the
Shivaprasad Lakamanahalli completion of each fflloor.
spoke to DH about the loop- The quality of material and
holes found in the system. work is decided as per the ISO
He expressed fear that mis- code. All these should be man-
haps could occur if the sugges- aged by the site engineer. Un-
tions made by the structural fortunately, majority ty of people
engineers and the government do not bother to visit the struc-
by-laws are not adopted dur-
ing the construction. He also
threw light on the stark reality
that nearly 99% of the huge
buildings constructed in Hub-
tural engineer again once after
getting the map and other in-
ty
formation, he regretted.
He said, in most cases, the
construction is supervised and
balli-Dharwad ttw win cities have
not adhered to these rules.
undertaken by the people who
lack technical knowledge.
“The advice of the structur-
al engineer should be invar-
“Moreover, the concerned
officials do not bother to vis-
iably taken before taking up it the building while filing
the construction of any public inspection reports. People
building. First of all, the soil remember the officials only
of the land should be exam- while obtaining building per-
ined. Thereafter, based on the mission and occupancy cer-
number of fl floors planned, the tificates. The construction of
ratio of steel and concrete to some of the buildings have
be used during various phases been taken up without even
of the construction is decided obtaining the required certif-
by the engineers and advised icates,” he explained.
accordingly,” he said. He said, the officials are very
strict in Pune, and follow rules
Quality inspection strictly at every stage, but this
The inspection of the quality nowhere to be found in the
of the construction and certif- ttw
win cities.
icates from the structural en- DH News Service
Birth anniversary today
Dr Patil Puttappa will pre-
Vidya Vardhak Sangha will side over the function. Writ-
celebrate the 158th birth anni- er Shrinivas Wadappi would
versary of R H Deshpande on be the chief guest. Artiste
March 20 (Wednesday), at the Shridhar Kulkarni and his
R H Deshpande Auditorium at team would present a music
6:00 pm. programme on the occasion.
Free summer camp
HUBBALLI, DHNS: The Lin- Training in drawing, paint-
gayat Mahila & Makkala Seva ing, and flower making will
Samsthe has organised a free be taught at the camp. Those
summer camp from March 21 interested may register their
to 23, from 4:00 pm to 5:00 names. For more information
pm at Plot no 96, Chetana Col- call on 96116 81597, stated a
ony, Bengeri, here. press release.