Bengaluru apartment collapse: BBMP 'ignored' flat owners' complaint about illegal floors

The Kasturinagar apartment complex that collapsed on Thursday was built as per the sanctioned plan but extra floors were added to it later, increasing the load, according to one of the flat owners.

Homebuyers had complained to the BBMP, as recently as in March last year, but the civic body did not take any action, the flat owner added.

“I bought the flat just four years ago and haven’t even repaid the home loan,” he said. “Whom should we hold responsible for this tragedy?”

The apartment collapse comes as a double whammy for flat owners. Not just the home, they also risk losing many of their valuable belongings, including jewellery, important documents, home appliances, electronic and electrical devices, et al.

Also Read | Poor soil testing, illegal floors and more: Why yet another building in Bengaluru collapsed

Anticipating the collapse, the residents evacuated the building in a hurry, taking along very few belongings.

After the building tilted dangerously and its ground floor gave way on Thursday, municipal authorities started pulling it down. They aren’t allowing any resident to go in and salvage the belongings.

Although officials tried to persuade them to leave the place, many stayed back throughout Friday, hoping against hope that they could recover some of the valuables from the apartments.

“The police and fire and emergence services officials have warned us not to enter the building. But all our valuables, including jewellery, cash and certificates, have been left behind. We have been waiting here hoping that at least some these items can be salvaged,” bemoaned a resident who was looking through the rubble for a document.

Also Read | Three-storeyed building collapses in Bengaluru's Kasturinagar

Officials have asked the residents for a list of belongings they have lost.

BBMP Joint Commissioner (East), K R Pallavi, who is supervising the demolition, said they were trying their best to recover as many items as possible. A laptop, a purse, and a few documents have been salvaged so far, she added. “We cannot risk allowing anyone inside,” she said.

The demolition was paused for a few hours on Friday due to rains but Pallavi expressed confidence that the exercise would be completed by Saturday afternoon.

“We will work through the night and ensure that the building is demolished fully,” she said. Clearing the rubble would then take at least a week, though.

Notices to buildings

The BBMP is issuing notices to owners of buildings located on three nearby lanes, a day after BBMP boss Gaurav Gupta ordered testing the soil and structural ability of adjoining structures. “We have given the building owners 15 days to submit reports of soil test and structural stability,” Pallavi said. The owners should also submit the sanctioned building plans and the occupancy certificates issued after the construction.

Co-owner arrested

Police have arrested one of the three owners of the apartment complex.

Police registered an FIR against the building owners — Ayesha Baig, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Iyazuddin — after BBMP officials filed a complaint that they did not follow the due procedure and the rules during construction.

Baig has been arrested while the other two owners are at large, said an officer.

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