Two children were injured after a portion of a dilapidated building in Maniktala collapsed this morning.
Civic officials of the building department said a portion of a century-old two storey building collapsed this morning. The civic authorities had declared the structure as “dangerous and dilapidated.” But the residents ignored the KMC notice and continued to live in the building, risking their lives.
“The civic laws do not permit the KMC to forcibly evacuate the building after their owners continue to live in them after ignoring KMC notice,” they said.
The KMC authorities have urged the owners of old buildings to sit with their tenants and make an agreement on the basis of which the KMC will pull down the old structure to make room for new ones. “The tenants do not agree to stay in a smaller space and do not cooperate with the owners. There are tenants who occupy nearly 2,000 square feet in Kolkata and pay Rs 50 per month as rent. Neither do they cooperate with the owner to maintain the building nor vacate the premises,” said the official, adding, “We have asked the borough assistant and executive engineers to keep a tab on old dilapidated structures in their areas and inform the police. Rainy season is very vulnerable for old buildings as the rain water pipes have been choked and the roof is full of accumulated water. The water put pressure on the roof leading to their collapse,” they maintained.