Report writing

You have been sent by the public works department to investigate an accident on a building site. You visit the scene and speak to various people. Rour meters below the ground level - use of inferior materials - safety precautions - pipes burst - laborers in trench - some unconscious - two dead - site foreman inexperience - reported leakage - building contractor denies leakage - support from neighbors.

The tottering complex of fancy

Hinddeep Purohit,

Rajkot,

22^nd December 2014

Fear, uncertainty and discomfort are the compasses towards growth. With each step forward there are a million chances of falling and failing. The star plaza that was the vision of 2020 unfortunately collapsed the last night around 8.30pm. It was reported that the mishap was more a result of the incompetency of its builders.

Being a prominent member of the public works department I was asked to investigate this tragic event that took place near Jhangir Road. A chat with Mr. Kureshi the supplier in charge of the raw material revealed the pioneer cause behind the accident. He said, "In an attempt to lower the cost of the building a compromise was made on the quality of the raw materials used." To name a few, the steel rods were not of sufficient tensile strength, the cement was not of a desired quality and the framework quite brittle.

The underpinnings of the building, four meters down the ground level was not appropriately balanced. The PVC pipes that ran around the building were old and the gas lines prone to leakage. The intensity of heat and pressure that the pipes could withstand fell short by a small margin. The foreman in charge had just began to tread on this journey and thus was quite inexperienced. He wasn't aware of the pitfalls and the precautionary measures. Although when I questioned him he said "we had arranged for all unforeseen calamities that could befall us. For instance a backup power system, an elementary firefighting apparatus etc." However the contractor firmly denied the leakage of any kind which is obviously supported by the witness - neighbors.

A loss not only in terms of money and matter but also men was a significant drawback. Two were dead and a few working in the trenches were unconscious. Thus we see that a grand dream before it could incarnate by the human patronage, perished to the sand! It would take almost a decade for the losses to full its own void - be it for the foreman or the laborers.