BENGALURU: The death of seven people in a building collapse at Ejipura on Monday has once again highlighted the issue of building violations. Though the building collapse in Ejipura was caused by a cylinder explosion, the building, like many others in the area, was old and not maintained well.
Residents in the area said the building which collapsed was built nearly 56 years ago, in 1961.
The area has several multi-storeyed structures, a lot of them constructed in gross violation of the building by-laws. Along with this, the lack of space between buildings, narrow streets cause maximum damage in case of an accident.
A few days ago, a newly constructed four-storey building tilted, resting on the adjacent building when rainwater seeped into its foundation. Residents of nearby houses had to be evacuated and the building was demolished. Soumya Chatterjee, a resident of the area, said, “Buildings in the area are built close to each other and in violation of laws. This poses a risk to residents of both buildings and to those in neighbouring ones.”
BBMP Joint Commissioner (South Zone) Dr Vishwanath said several residents in the area had built additional floors than what the building permit had allowed. Another problem was how several residents made old buildings look newer by painting over it. Ejipura ward’s Executive Engineer Srinivas reddy said notices had been issued to several buildings in the area, but any action was yet to be taken. He said, “Buildings which violate the by-laws and very old buildings have been identified.
We will first cut-off electricity and water supply to those buildings, and then ask the occupants to demolish them. If they don’t agree, the BBMP will demolish them.” However, with no concrete steps taken so far.
Reddy added that the area was characterised by multi-storey buildings in small plots. Builders who intended to rent the houses often neglected use of quality construction materials.
Past storeys of collapse
Oct 5, 2016: Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed and seven others were injured after a six-storey under-construction building collapsed near Ecospace in Bellandur.
Sept, 7, 2015: Five people were killed and around 10 others were injured after an under-construction residential apartment complex collapsed on a temporary shed near Hegde Nagar in Sampigehalli.
October 28, 2014: An 80-year-old woman Joe Mary was killed and four other members of a family, including a one-month-old baby, were injured after a two-storey residential building collapsed in Lingarajapuram flyover in Banasawadi.
Nov 26, 2013: Five persons, including a two-year-old girl were killed after a dilapidated building collapsed due to heavy rain in Adugodi on Hosur Road. Two others were injured in the incident which damaged nine houses.
Aug 5, 2013: Three workers were killed and 11 injured when an under-construction marriage hall collapsed in Kommaghatta near Kengeri Satellite Town. The moulding of the second floor’s ceiling was underway when it collapsed. 25 workers fell from the roof while others on the ground floor were trapped under the debris
July 4, 2012: Two persons were killed under debris after an illegal three-storey under-construction building collapsed at M K Layout in Garudacharpalya near Mahadevapura .
Sept 21, 2011: A teenage girl was killed and ten persons, including six fire personnel, were injured when a two-storey house collapsed after a domestic cooking gas cylinder caused fire in an adjoining Lakshmi Venkateshwara Choultry. The explosion triggered reaction on some chemical substance stored on the ground floor of the collapsed building.
BBMP officials finally spring into action
Mayor Sampath Raj directed BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad to issue a circular to the officials concerned to make a list of dilapidated building in their wards. BBMP seems to have woken up after two walls collapsed due to heavy rain in the past four days. Mayor Sampath told Express that the BBMP commissioner would issue a circular on Tuesday with regard to the list of the dilapidated structures. “We do not want to take risks,’’ he said.
Cab driver had Diwali plans
Murthy and Shanthi, parents of Saravana, a cab driver were not ready to believe that their son and daughter-in-law Ashwini and granddaughter Sanjana were trapped under debris.
The couple live in the same area, about half a kilometre from where the building collapsed. They rushed to the spot and found the body of Ashwini. Saravana was untraceable under the debris. They fainted near the collapsed building and were taken away from there.
Shanthi told Express that Saravana came early from work on Sunday as he was planning to go to Thiruvannamalai to celebrate Diwali along with his family. “Sanjana’s grandparents live in Tamil Nadu and the couple had decided to go out of city for few days. The family was about to leave the home on Tuesday. But fate had something else in store,” Shanthi added.
Neighbours lend a helping hand
Krishnaveni (27) and her eight-year-old son Kiran were in the bedroom on the first floor. “A portion of the drawing room collapsed and my son started screaming. I was shocked and raised an alarm. People from neighbouring building came to lend a helping hand. I held my son and somehow managed to reach the other building,’’ she said while waiting to receive her mother Kalvathi’s body after postmortem at the Bowring Hospital.
“I never thought we would survive as the building collapsed in few seconds. My mother was unlucky as she was on the ground floor and got trapped along with some other people. ,” she added. Kalavathi’s mother would be threatened by owner Ganesh to vacate the house whenever she complained about cracks on the wall of her house. “He used to collect rent on 15th of every month. He did not come this Sunday,’’ said Krishnaveni.
Youth recently shifted here
Hariprasad, 18, was working in a mall before he moved to the area from Yeshwantpur recently. His nephew Pawan Kalyan,(19), who was working in a food delivery outlet had come to his house from Anekal to meet him. Little did Pawan know what was in store there. Both of them died after the ceiling collapsed. Their bodies were extricated from debris later.
Hariprasad’s mother and brother sustained minor injuries. They all hailed from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. Pawan’s father Prabhakar works as housekeeping staff in a private college in city.
He was married just 4 months ago
Maladri (25), a native of Udayagiri in Nellore district, was a daily wage worker and had married just four months ago. His wife Vijayamma collapsed when she heard about her husband’s death. Maladri was a neighbour and had come to collect water when he was trapped. Another neighbour Ravichandran(45), who was working in accounts department in a private software company, was waiting to collect water when he got trapped in the debris. His wife Shantha was getting three of their daughters ready for school and colleges. He was the breadwinner of the family and Shantha is now worried about her kids and their education.