Report Writing

You have been sent by the Public Works Department to investigate on

an accident at a building site. Date, time, place – use of inferior
material – burst pipes –many dead –– support from neighbours-probe
ordered. Write a newspaper report.

Accident at a Building site

By a Staff Reporter
Kolkata, May 21, 2020 – An accident in which there was a pipe-burst
at a building site at Maniktala crossing was reported at around 7 PM in
the evening of May 20, 2020. The accident claimed the lives of many
labourers. The use of inferior material was suspected as the cause of
the accident. Due to the poor cement and building material used, the
wall of the house being constructed fell on the labourers in the trench.
The materials lacked the required quality and due to their low
standards, they could not withstand the sudden wind during the
thunderstorm in the evening.
The wall fell on the pipes by the side of the trench and the pipes burst.
The water reservoir was connected to the pipes which were used to
bring water for construction work. As the pipes burst, not only did the
debris fall into the trench but also the water flowed out into the trench
while the labourers were present in it.
The labourers in the trench were working when this happened and
had no time to understand what had happened. The debris of the wall
and burst pipes fell into the trench and the labourers were surrounded
by water. As the trench was deep, some of them could not climb up
out of the trench in time. There were about 50 labourers present there
at that moment. 10 labourers have been reportedly dead. It is
probable that they died due to breathlessness
and suffocation in the water and some of them were trapped under
the debris and they died.
There had been reportedly leakage from the pipes adjoining the walls.
There had been water filling up on a side of the wall which had been
exerting pressure on the wall apparently. It has been alleged that this
was neglected and the walls poorly made could not hold back the
water pressure when there was a suddenly an excessive leakage on
May 20. This coupled with the sudden gusts of wind caused the walls
to cave in. It is estimated that there has been a loss amounting to lakhs
of rupees on the construction site.
The building contractor has denied any leakage at the construction
site. He has suggested foul play behind the incident – someone had a
grudge against him and thus, caused the incident. However, labourers
and neighbours have attributed leakage from the pipes in the wall to
be the cause of the accident. The rescue of the labourers was
facilitated by the neighbours who called the police noticing the
accident. Rescue personnel from the fire brigade adept at such rescue
work were sent immediately by the police.
The neighbours too, helped in the rescue work by helping the injured
labourers to reach the hospital before the ambulance arrived. Mr.
Deepak Agarwal, a resident of the locality said, “We did all we could
to help the injured people. It is sad that once again, negligence has
claimed so many lives.” The Chief Minister has announced a
compensation ex gratia amount of 1 lakh for the families of each of
the deceased labourers. A probe has been ordered to investigate the
case. Police is enquiring as to what can be the real reason of the
accident. A committee has been formed with the local people of the
area to check and ensure that recurrence of such cases do not take
place .