Mantri Square mall cleared of violations, allowed to reopen

BBMP grants occupancy certificate, lays down 12 conditions

The Mantri Square Mall on Sampige Road in Malleswaram, which was shut down for more than a month, is likely to open on Sunday as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has restored the occupancy certificate (OC) of the building.

The mall was shut down and its OC withdrawn after a parapet wall on the third floor collapsed, injuring two people on January 16. M B Thippanna, joint director of BBMP’s town planning division, said, “We have restored the OC. The builder can open the mall anytime, even tomorrow.”

While restoring the OC on Saturday, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad put 12 conditions. The builder will have to take remedial measures as mentioned in the expert committee report.

The damaged portion of the roof slab in the service balcony at terrace level should be cleared and the rectification work should be undertaken under the supervision of experts. The maintenance of the building should be carried out annually and its report should be maintained and communicated to the BBMP authorities.

According to the conditions, the builder has to ensure that fire fighting mechanisms, extinguishers, fire driveway and related mechanisms are in working condition. Periodically, the stability aspects of the building should be examined by experts and the reports should be dispatched to BBMP authorities.

Utilities like water supply lines, sewerage lines, AC ducts, chiller plants and electrical networks should be periodically checked. The parking areas should be used and maintained for the same purpose as mentioned in the occupancy certificate, the commissioner stated.

There should not be any deviation in the use of the building at any stage and leak-proof technology should be used at the terrace floor. The third floor of the building will remain closed until repair works are carried out at the damaged portion. The ‘Scary House’, an entertainment centre on the third floor, will be opened only after the completion of all repair works.

Soon after the incident, Prasad had announced that town planning officers will check the building plan violations too before the OC is restored. Thippanna said, “We did not find any building plan violations, so we restored the OC.”