‘Baghajatin building collapse engineering disaster’
Kolkata: On visiting the incident site on Thursday, Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Firhad Hakim said that the main cause behind the partial collapse of the building in Vidyasagar Colony is an engineering disaster where the company engaged for lifting the tilted structure did not follow due procedure.
The Mayor went to the spot for inspection, enquiring the progress of the demolition work. The civic body, in consultation with Jadavpur University experts, is razing down the entire structure which has completely tilted to one side posing a risk to adjacent buildings. Hakim said directions have been issued to tread with caution during demolition to ensure adjacent structures are not affected.
Giving a press statement, Hakim said that the disaster was caused mainly due to an engineering disaster where the Haryana-based company carrying out the lifting work did not perform the basic procedures which includes soil testing before executing the work. Hydraulic jack used for lifting cars was being used to lift the building.
“Soil in Bengal is not the soil one finds in Haryana. In Bengal, the soil is of a different texture unlike in Haryana where there is hard soil. We have weak soil which often witnesses subsidence which at times leads to cracking of roads. Further, before executing such lifting one has to assess the stability of the structure. This too was not performed,” Hakim said. He also added that had the organization approached the KMC the civic body would have denied it. The Mayor also said that the Building department has not been able to find any building plan of the structure as of yet.
He added that nowadays all records are in a virtual mode but at the time this building was constructed (2009-10) there was no such provision and only hard copies in files existed.
Further, the Mayor said that the state will extend all help and cooperation to the flat owners who, according to him, are the worst sufferers. We will ensure they get a proper building plan for rebuilding their homes, Hakim assured.
