JOIN USPoor soil testing, illegal floors and more: Why yet another building in Bengaluru collapsed
Stung by the sudden collapse of an apartment complex in Kasturinagar on Thursday, municipal authorities suspended the ward-level assistant executive engineer for dereliction of duty but maintained that the main fault was the builder’s.
VJ Infinity, a four-storeyed residential building located at 2nd Cross, Doctors Layout, a BDA layout, collapsed all of a sudden on Thursday after having tilted for days. The residents of its eight flats had evacuated in anticipation of the collapse. The building was constructed on an ‘A’ Khata site, said BBMP Joint Commissioner (East) Pallavi K R.
BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta visited the apartment and said that it looked like the mistake was the contractor/builder’s as they failed to follow the rules of civil engineering.
The BBMP has now ordered a detailed assessment of adjoining buildings by civil and structural engineering experts.
Gupta conceded that the building didn’t have an occupancy certificate issued by the BBMP, and ordered the suspension of Shankarappa, the assistant executive engineer of the Benniganahalli ward, over dereliction of duty.
He, however, laid the main blame on poor soil investigation before the building was constructed.
“Soil investigation is absolutely mandatory for the construction of any multi-storeyed building because the entire load is mounted on the soil. A safe building can be built on any type of soil if you follow the proper procedure. But here, it’s evident that no such tests were conducted. This would amount to criminal negligence and legal action will be taken against the builder,” Gupta said.
The BBMP boss also pointed out that the sanctioned plan was violated and that additional floors were constructed without obtaining the OC.
Asked why the BBMP remained silent, Gupta said he would seek a report from zonal officials and promised strict action if there were any lapses.
Check out latest DH videos here