Sealdah: Portion of old building collapses

kolkata: A portion of an old dilapidated building collapsed in the Sealdah area early Thursday morning.

No one was injured. The disaster management team of Kolkata Municipal Corporation has been engaged to clear the debris. The two-storeyed building has been kept under lock and key for quite some time.

A portion of the house on Manindra Mitra Row collapsed around 1.30am. No one has been staying in the building for quite some time. Local people said a major accident had been averted as the incident took place at night. As Manindra Mitra Row is used by hundreds of pedestrians, they could have been hit by the bricks and other rubbles.

Officials of the Building department of Kolkata Municipal Corporation said they had failed to trace the owners who had kept the house under lock and key and left the area.

There are at least 2000 old dilapidated houses in Kolkata. The KMC authorities have identified 100 odd severely dilapidated houses. Notices have been sent to the owners of these buildings asking them to vacate the premises immediately.

The officials said as these buildings had not been maintained for several years, the rain water system got choked.

When there is a heavy shower, the rain water accumulates on the rooftop. This puts additional load on the structure. The structure being old cannot bear the additional load and collapses.