3 injured after portion of building collapses at BB Ganguly Street

Kolkata: Three persons were injured, two of them seriously, when a portion of an old building collapsed at B B Ganguly Street on Friday morning.

The injured persons have been admitted to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital and at a private nursing home. The workers of Disaster Management department and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) have already removed the debris.

Senior civic officials said a portion of the building was damaged after a truck mounted the pavement and hit the structure a few days ago. The repair work was going on when on Friday morning another portion of the building caved in, injuring three. The police and civic workers along with their counterpart in the Disaster Management department visited the spot and cleared the debris. The civic officials said the structure has not been repaired for several decades. The officials said owners of some old buildings have approached the KMC with the idea of construction of new buildings after pulling down the old one with proper rehabilitation of tenants.

They maintained that the owners of more such buildings should come forward and pull down the structures to make room for new ones. They maintained that there are over 1,000 old and dilapidated buildings. The civic authorities have given notices asking the occupants to vacate but they are staying there risking their lives. It may be mentioned that in 2017, 25 persons who used to stay in old buildings have died after portions of structures caved in and fell on them.