Ludhiana | 2 days after fire mishap, 8-decade-old building in Purana Bazar declared unsafe

Two days after fire ravaged an over 80-year-old building in Purana Bazar, the Ludhiana municipal corporation (MC) declared the building unsafe and asked police to take precautionary measures to avoid any untoward incident during the upcoming monsoon.

MC additional commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal directed the officials concerned to assess the strength of the building and shift shops on the ground floor of the building to some other location, if required.

A major fire had broken out at a hosiery unit in the building, reportedly constructed in 1935, on Monday morning. The building had developed several cracks after the mishap, and the roof, which was made of wood, had also collapsed.

While the fire broke out on the first and second floors of the building, the ground floor had been unaffected.

Fearing a building collapse, firefighters too had avoided entering the building while firefighting.

Dachwal said the there is always a fear of collapse in such buildings, especially during monsoon.

“Officials of the buildings and road (B&R) department have been directed to assess the strength of the building and submit a report within three days. If required, the MC will also get shops situated on the ground floor shifted and seal the building. A letter has been sent to the police commissioner to take precautionary measures in and around the building. Police may also block the passage leading to the building, if required,” said Dachalwal.

Owner starts dismantling unsafe structure of building

Building owner Saurav said that MC officials had come to inspect the building on Thursday. “I have told them that we will bring down the unsafe portion of the building ourselves. The process has already been started. We have asked for assistance from the MC and police in blocking the road outside the building till the work is complete,” said Saurav.

Building branch officials told to conduct survey of unsafe buildings in city:

With monsoon around the corner, MC has woken up from its deep slumber to conduct a survey of unsafe buildings in the city. Citing chances of a collapse, corrective steps need to be taken, Dachalwal said while directing the senior town planner (STP) and superintending engineers of B&R department to prepare a list of unsafe buildings in the city and take necessary steps. As per officials, there are over 150 unsafe buildings in different parts of the city and portions of a few buildings have also collapsed in the past.

At least 10 people were critically injured after an unsafe building collapsed on RK Road in August last year. The fire ravaged building was lying in a dilapidated condition after fire broke out at the unit (RT woollen) in May 2020.

One person also died after a portion of an unsafe building collapsed in Thapran Mohalla in 2015.