NEW DELHI // Rescue operations continued for a second night yesterday after the collapse of an apartment block in the Indian capital that has claimed at least 66 lives and left more than 80 injured.
Emergency teams spent the day pulling survivors and bodies out of the rubble in the Lalita Park Colony in the eastern suburb of Laxmi Nagar.
It is feared that about 30 people remain trapped under the concrete and iron bars of the building, where an illegal fifth floor had been under construction. Distraught and grieving families held a desperate vigil last night in the hope that more survivors would be found.
About 200 people were reportedly in the building when it collapsed on Monday, most of them migrants who had come to Delhi to work as domestic workers and daily-wage labourers. Emergency vehicles initially had difficulty reaching the scene because of the narrow lanes of the colony.
Early investigations suggest the foundations of the building may have been weakened by flooding when heavy monsoon rains led the nearby Yamuna River to break its banks and inundate the area in September.
Residents say the basement of the apartment block had remained water-logged for two months, a problem mirrored in many surrounding buildings.
The Delhi government announced it was conducting an investigation into the cause of the collapse, and police announced the arrest of the building's owner, Amrit Lal Singh, on charges of culpable homicide.
However, experts say the real cause of the collapse stems from the failures of planning policy and the pervasive corruption in which the capital's construction industry is mired.
"There is a very active nexus between politicians, builders and bureaucrats in this city," said Miloon Kothari, a former United Nations special rapporteur for housing, based in Delhi. "They have allowed thousands of buildings to go up without proper planning and without meeting even basic safety regulations. I am surprised more buildings have not collapsed."
A tawdry blame game has already broken out between the Delhi government, which is run by the Congress party under the chief minister Sheila Dikshit, and the Municipal Council of Delhi (MCD), which is in the hands of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
"The MCD is the authority for checking fitness of the buildings. It is their responsibility to check whether a building is fit for occupancy or not," said Ms Dikshit yesterday, adding that the council should never have granted a no-objection certificate to the owner when he sought to extend the height of the building.
Yoginder Chandolia, the MCD standing committee chairman, preferred to focus on the flooding and put the blame on one of the government's departments.
"The Delhi flood irrigation department was responsible for checking stagnant water," he said. "The MCD has little to do with it."
The incident has highlighted the often precarious conditions in which migrant workers in Delhi are forced to live.
Municipal inspections are rare in places such as Laxmi Nagar, and safety certificates are often contingent on little more than a bribe. Construction companies, keen to save money on materials, cut as many corners as possible.
Experts say these problems stem not just from corruption, but also from a complete failure to prepare for the influx of migrants in the past two decades.
"There has been a colossal failure in planning and we see now a huge shortage in affordable housing," Mr Kothari said. "People are forced to resort to whatever they can find, however dangerous it might be."
Delhi is the second-fastest growing major city in the world after Dhaka in Bangladesh, with a population of more than 22 million. An estimated 500,000 people are added every year and the city already has a shortfall in housing estimated at close to one million dwellings.
The government promised to build 150,000 new homes every year under the Delhi master plan adopted in 2007 but, in the past three years, construction has been almost entirely focused on preparations for the Commonwealth Games, which took place in the city last month.
Moreover, developers have shown scant interest in low-cost housing and little consideration for the needs of migrant workers.
"We have adopted this pattern of western-style suburbinisation where we build further and further away from the centre," said Mr Kothari. "But these people's jobs are in the centre and they can't afford to travel from the outskirts every day.
"Planners knew perfectly well 20 years ago what was going to happen here in terms of migration and yet today we have literally thousands and thousands of people living in dangerous conditions in this city."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UAE v Zimbabwe A, 50 over series
Fixtures
Thursday, Nov 9 - 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 11 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Monday, Nov 13 – 2pm, Dubai International Stadium
Thursday, Nov 16 – 2pm, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 18 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
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RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
Results
5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Reem Baynounah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Afham, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Haqeeqy, Dane O’Neill, John Hyde.
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Match info
Liverpool 4
Salah (19'), Mane (45 2', 53'), Sturridge (87')
West Ham United 0
WWE TLC results
Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax
Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match
Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre
Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match
Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match
Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day
R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Manchester City 4
Otamendi (52) Sterling (59) Stones (67) Brahim Diaz (81)
Real Madrid 1
Oscar (90)
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The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
The biog
Name: Greg Heinricks
From: Alberta, western Canada
Record fish: 56kg sailfish
Member of: International Game Fish Association
Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters
