Tilting 2-storey building gives anxious moments to residents

A single-storey building situated near a rajakaluve (large stormwater drain) in Yeshwantpur was tilting dangerously, leaving its occupants scared on Monday night. The building, situated in B Krishnamurthy Nagar near LN Colony, has been demolished by the Palike authorities after evacuating its occupants.

Residents in the neighbouring buildings were also anxious that the tilting structure may come down anytime, endangering their buildings.

There was one family of four residing on the first floor. The ground floor had a flour mill and a ration shop. Owner of the building Chikkaramanna had rented out the building to one Chinnaswamy and his family.

Alert resident

Chinnaswamy’s daughter Priyanka had gone to a photocopy shop and was returning home at around 9.30 pm when she heard a rattling sound from the building. She alerted her family members, who ran down to the ground for safety. The family and the neighbours kept gazing at the building in the fear that it would come crashing down. The police and the Fire and Emergency services then arrived at the spot. They cleared the building so that the civic authorities can demolish it.

Officials feel that the recent heavy rains increased the water flow in the rajakaluve, which in turn weakened the foundation of the building, causing it to tilt.

Ward number 37 corporator GK Venkatesh said the building was 40 years old and the foundation was not laid using pillars. It was laid using red soil and granite stones, he said. The task force was called in and the building was demolished brick by brick, without causing any harm to nearby structures, Venkatesh said.