4-floor building falls in Karol Bagh

NEW DELHI: A four-storey building on the crowded Tank Road near Karol Bagh in Central Delhi collapsed on Wednesday morning. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident. Locals said though the building was in a dilapidated state due to lack of maintenance, it hadn’t been declared dangerous yet. Delhi Police has registered an FIR against the owners of the building for endangering the lives of others.

Municipal officials, meanwhile, said they would hire a private consultant to survey the structures in Karol Bagh after a spate of incidents of fire or building collapse over the last one month or so.

Fire officials said the incident took place around 8.40am. At that time, shops on the ground floor were shut. Locals said the building, located on a corner plot, swayed and, then, suddenly came crashing down. Police said the floors above were vacant and being used as godowns by shop owners.

Locals said the owners of the building seldom visited to check its condition as most of the floors had been rented out for commercial purpose. “We usually alert owners about the poor condition of buildings whenever it comes to our notice. We will have a meeting with other owners to ensure that repairs are conducted from time to time so that such incidents don’t recur ,” Murli Mani, president of the Karol Bagh traders’ association, said.

Ashok Kumar, a trader, said tenants had made changes inside the building in violation of norms and as the structure was old, it couldn’t withstand the alterations. “There are several other buildings in a similar state in the area,” Kumar said.

Officials said five fire tenders were pressed into service. Disaster relief teams were also roped in to clear the debris. Initial probe showed that the building, constructed in the 1980s, had developed cracks at several places due to seepage. However, corporation officials refused to comment on how exactly the building collapsed or if any portion had been added illegally. “It was an old, four-floor building, but no one was injured in the incident. I have asked officials to conduct a detailed inquiry and check if the building had been declared dangerous. If yes, then why no action was taken against the owner,” Varsha Joshi, North Delhi Municipal Corporation commissioner, said.

“We have decided to rope in a concessionaire who will conduct a door-to-door survey of the buildings. They will also verify if a particular building is dangerous or not. Based on their report, we will take appropriate measures,” she added.

On February 12, a massive fire had killed 17 people at hotel Arpit Palace in Karol Bagh. The blaze had started due to a short circuit. Later, probe had revealed several fire-norm violations at the hotel. Data compiled by the Delhi Fire Services states that roughly 250 hotels in the national capital continue to operate despite falling short on safety measures. A majority of these hotels are situated in crowded areas, such as Karol Bagh and Paharganj .