New Delhi: A 57-year-old man was injured while his family escaped narrowly in the early hours of Sunday after an illegally constructed three-storeyed commercial building collapsed in East Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar area. Fortunately, no causalities were reported in the mishap.
The injured has been identified as Balkar Singh. He sustained minor injuries and was moved to a hospital. All other residents including his wife and two children escaped unhurt.
Fire officials said the building might have collapsed because of the continuous rain over the weekend. According to the fire officials, a call about the collapse was made to them at around 1.30 am. Immediately, eight police teams, five fire tenders, an excavator, and an emergency response team were sent to the spot. The building had collapsed at G Block near a Metro pillar.
According to an official, Mr Singh was living in a house behind the collapsed building. The police said that the building was old and there was no particular reason for its collapse. Officials have checked the debris and confirmed that no one else is trapped in the rubble.
Neighbours stated that the building was leaning on one side but despite complaints, the authorities did not take any action. They said the building collapse did not cause any loss to the owner and the occupants but it led to severe damage to the neighbouring house wherein the roof of the house shattered and led to injuries to the owner.
The three-storeyed commercial building stood on a disputed plot near V3S Mall and had been lying unoccupied. Another two-storeyed building stood on the same plot. Residents alleged that they had alerted the authorities about the poor condition of the building but no action was taken.
In another incident, continuous rain resulted in the collapse of scaffoldings erected for the construction work at a government school in Delhi’s Govindpuri Tughlakabad area. Fortunately, no causalities were reported. However, four cars, which were parked in the premises, were damaged.
