Tilting building poses threat to neighbours, to be razed

An illegally constructed five-storey building in a bylane of Ejipura tilted dangerously on Wednesday, after the heavy downpour on Tuesday, forcing the neighbours to vacate their homes.

The family living in the house adjacent to the tilted building woke up to the sound of tiles falling on their roof around 3 am.

Chetan, one of the neighbours said many of them came running outside their homes hearing someone screaming, “The building is falling on the roof.”

 “We had just moved into the area. Now we are scared to live here,'' said Shruthi, who moved to Ejipura three months ago.

Residents said the building was built without a proper foundation. Srinivasa Reddy, assistant executive engineer, BBMP confirmed the apprehensions of neighbours.

 “The building, which rests on a 20X40 feet site, was not build with the required depth, so when it rained, it sank into the mud,” the BBMP engineers said.

Mathew, who stays nearby, said the whole building was completed in just six months, without letting the concrete to set in.

According to BBMP officials, the 800 sq ft building was illegally constructed. The residents contacted the fire force around 5 am as the tilting building posed a threat to the lives of the residents around it. The houses nearby were damaged due to the falling tiles.

Reddy said that the owner of the building, Ramesh, who is absconding, had permission to build just two floors (ground and first floor), but built five floors. He said the building will be demolished in two days.

IG Chandrashekhar said precautions have already been taken. He added that the demolishing will start on Thursday.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who is also the local MLA, said a complaint against the building owner has been registered in Viveknagar police station and action will be taken against officials who gave the owner permission to build five floors.