Taratala Collapse: CM Announces Relief for Victims

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday informed the Assembly that the death toll in the Taratala warehouse collapse has risen to nine, while 20 people were injured after the roof of an under-construction warehouse caved in on Transport Depot Road near Brace Bridge on Wednesday.

Announcing relief measures, the Chief Minister said the families of each deceased will receive ₹10 lakh as compensation, while every injured person will be given ₹1 lakh. Among the injured, one person remains in critical condition and four others are reported to be seriously injured.

Adhikari also confirmed that five people have been arrested in connection with the incident, asserting that those responsible would not be spared. He further alleged that the building plan for the collapsed warehouse carried the signature of former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim.

According to the Chief Minister, preliminary findings from engineers of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation indicated defects in the approved building plan. In response, the state government has suspended all ongoing commercial construction projects approved by the previous TMC government until July 31 and ordered a comprehensive structural audit of such projects.

The warehouse roof collapsed around noon on Wednesday while several workers were present at the construction site, triggering a large-scale rescue operation.

Authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the exact cause of the collapse and identify those responsible for the structural failure.