Portion of a 100-yr-old building collapses in Central Kolkata

KOLKATA: A portion of a century-old building collapsed at Nur Mohammad Lane in Central Kolkata on late Thursday night.

No one was injured. Workers of Kolkata Municipal Corporation's (KMC) demolition squad visited the site and started clearing the debris. Police have cordoned off the area.

Senior civic officials said the building known as 'Mazumdar House' had not been maintained for years. The KMC had served notice to the owners asking them to vacate the building. A portion of the second floor of the old structure collapsed and fell off the first floor balcony. A house situated adjacent to the building had been damaged too. Civic officials said the water that got accumulated on the roof due to the incessant rains exerted pressure on the structure which could not bear the load and hence collapsed.

The civic authorities have identified more than 100 century old buildings and declared them as 'severely insecure.' The owners have been asked to vacate the premises immediately. There are at least 2000 "dangerous and dilapidated" structures in the city. The civic authorities have put up notices in front of these buildings. But flouting the KMC notice, the owners and the tenants continue to stay there.