Mustafabad tragedy: Delhi BJP slams AAP MLAs and councillors for illegal constructions, appeasement

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Saturday expressed sorrow over loss of 11 lives in a house collapse in east Delhi and trained his guns on AAP legislators and councillors in the MCD for promoting illegal construction for votes.

He alleged that in the last 10 years, Aam Aadmi Party MLAs and councillors elected from these Muslim-majority constituencies, for the sake of increasing their vote banks and income, have allowed their political associates to construct unauthorised fourth, fifth, and sixth floors and rent them out.

The Delhi BJP President said the Municipal Commissioner should immediately order a survey of buildings above four floors and structurally unsafe houses in areas such as Mustafabad, Karawal Nagar, Seelampur, Okhla, Matia Mahal, Ballimaran, and Sadar Bazar and take strict action.

He said the problem of illegal construction was particularly serious in minority-dominated pockets.

He added that there are several such ticking time bombs in Muslim-majority areas. The MCD should order the evacuation, sealing, and demolition of illegal 5th and 6th floors to prevent such incidents in the future.

Sachdeva's allegations of rampant unauthorised construction in constituencies of AAP legislators and councillors come on a day when Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ordered an enquiry into the building collapse in Dayalpur area of Mustafabad.

She also visited the tragedy site and directed the MCD Commissioner to get endangered buildings in the vicinity of the ill-fated building vacated.

The Chief Minister said no guilty official will be spared.

The building in Mustafabad collapsed early Saturday morning, killing 11 people, including the house owner, and trapping several others under the debris, officials said.

The incident occurred around 3 a.m., following intense overnight rainfall and thunderstorms that hit several parts of the city. Sixty-year-old building owner Tehsin was also killed, while 11 others were rescued.

Soon after the incident, Sandeep Lamba, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North East District), said in the morning, "Four among the 14 rescued succumbed to their injuries. The building was four floors high. Rescue operations are ongoing, and eight to ten people are still feared trapped."

DDMA, NDRF, DFS and other agencies were engaged in relief and rescue operations.

--IANS

rch/pgh