Surat: In an episode that could easily have been life-threatening, a portion of scaffolding and centring plates fell 19 metres from an under-construction overhead water tank and landed just five feet from a public road in Valsad on Monday. The incident occurred in the busy Kalyan Baug area, a marketplace about a kilometre from the Valsad railway station. The water tank, costing Rs 54 lakh, is part of a Rs 10 crore project package is being developed by Jayanti Super Construction of Mehsana, the same company that built the water tank that collapsed at Tadkeshwar in Surat. At Tadkeshwar, the overhead water tank — costing Rs 1 crore — collapsed during testing.No casualties were reported in the incident in Valsad. Officials said work continued after the slab construction was completed on Jan 12. While material was being removed, a worker may have lost control of a tool which led to the material falling.The tank is being built within the Valsad municipality limits, with the project being implemented by Gujarat Urban Development Company (GUDC). The 11-lakh-litre tank is 10 barely feet away from the public road. Locals had raised concerns about the dangerously close structure.No official was ready to comment on why the structure was permitted so close to a public road. On the distance of the tank from the road, Valsad municipality chief officer Komal Dhinaiya said, “In govt projects, no approval from the municipality is required. In private projects, the developer must get approval.”About the tank’s proximity, Ketan Patel, a deputy engineer with GUDC, said, “We are the project implementing agency and carry out work at the site given. This project is being developed according to approvals from the municipality.”
