Chunks fall off porch, 4 pedestrians injured

KOLKATA: Four persons were injured after a portion of porch of a building on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road collapsed on Monday afternoon. While the injured were treated at a hospital and discharged, the accident left locals shaken as the mishap occurred on a busy pavement and the damage could have been more serious.
Around 2.30 pm, a part of the porch on the fourth floor of Jayswal Mansion broke and fell on the footpath.A food stall in front of the building was full of people having lunch. As pieces of concrete and cement started falling, some of them managed to move to safety.
Not everyone, though, was so fortunate. Barun Chakraborty (30) of Manoharpukur Road, Uttam Haldar (22) of Kakardighi in South 24-Parganas, Shankar Singh (45) of Middleton Row and Bipul Hazra (24) of Christopher Road sustained head injuries. The first three were taken to SSKM Hospital, where they were treated and discharged. Hazra was treated at a local nursing home and discharged.
"I was just a few feet away from the accident spot. I might have sustained injuries had I been any closer," said Shivcharan Deo, who sells muri. Locals also said this was not the first time a portion of the porch had crashed. Police cordoned off the area after the mishap.
"Only about a month ago, chunks of concrete and cement had fallen from the porch. While no one was injured, police or the civic body should have asked the owner to repair the building immediately, especially because it is located in a busy area," said Sarfaraz Ali, who works in a salon on the ground floor.