BBMP demolishes tilted building, razes wall too

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) demolished the compound wall of an adjacent building - without any forewarning - while knocking down a five-storeyed tilted construction in Marathahalli.

The BBMP - anticipating danger - decided to demolish the tilted building which was on the verge of collapse at Ashwath Nagar in Marathahalli on Thursday night. All the neighbouring residents were told to evacuate their houses. Consequently, one of the adjacent buildings were damaged, while a few are in jeopardy.

Manoj Pillai, whose compound wall was damaged, said that the BBMP did not give him any prior notice. “The BBMP has damaged our washrooms and a wall without consent. When we asked the engineers at the spot, they said that it was an emergency, and they had to take a call immediately,” he said. Pillai’s family had evacuated their house along with their valuables soon after they learnt there is a tilt in the neighbouring building.

“The BBMP asked me to sign the notice on Saturday morning after the wall was pulled down. I refused to sign initially, but I had to sign it as I had no other option,” added Pillai. He has demanded compensation from the BBMP and said that he will write a letter to the BBMP commissioner explaining his plight.

The residents in the neighbourhood expressed their fear over the safety of their buildings during the demolition process.

BBMP Chief Engineer, Parameshwariah, said the compound wall had to be brought down as a crane had to be accommodated for the demolition of the tilted structure. “It is a top to bottom demolition approach. Our objective is to avoid any harm. While pulling down a building, we need to support a part of the wall with a vehicle in order to avoid it crumbling down on neighbouring buildings. That way, we had to take away a part of the compound wall to fit in the vehicle,” he said.

He added, “If the compound is crushed, we can re-erect it but if a life is gone, it is gone. We made sure no one’s life was at harm during the demolition process. We will get the compound wall re-erected.”