Gurugram ceiling collapse: Residents protest against builder

A day after the ceiling of multiple flats in Chintels Paradiso in Sector 109 collapsed killing two people, angry apartment owners of the condominium on Friday held a protest in the society complex and later at Bajghera police station, demanding stringent action against the developer of the residential society having a total of 542 flats.

On Thursday evening, six floors of Tower D in the society collapsed partially, which led to the death of two women, while one person was rescued on Friday. The project was launched in 2011-12 and the possession was offered in 2018.

The protesters alleged that the developer did not act against their repeated complaints of cracks in various flats.

“There are around 50 flats in Tower D and all the flats have been evacuated. We don’t know where to go. Where will we spend next couple of weeks or months. Police must take strict action against the violators,” said Prof Lalit Kapoor, who owns a flat in Tower D.

The residents also had a tiff with private security personnel deployed at the condominium gate after access was closed to outside persons on Friday morning.

Later in the afternoon, a group of over 100 residents reached Bajghera police station to submit a complaint against the developer for poor and shoddy construction, and demanded a fresh FIR against the promoter. “We have come here to submit a complaint against the developer. We have been demanding a structural audit and corrective measures for the past one year, but no action has been taken,” said Nidhi Sharma, a resident.

The protesters also alleged that the police were not cooperating with them and had refused to accept their complaint. “Six months ago too, we had come to lodge an FIR but no action was taken. We want the authorities to take strict action against the developer so that such incidents are not repeated,” said Tushar Chowdhary, another resident.

Not satisfied with the two protests, the home owners later reached the residence of the developer on Najafgarh Road near Bijwasan in Delhi and held a protest. “Around 70 people reached the spot and protested. The police have taken the complaint, but we want a separate FIR,” said Varun Dhamija, a resident.

Sangita Singhal, who had recently bought a flat in Tower D, said it seems that about ₹2 crore has wasted. “If the structural audit ordered in July last year had been done properly, we would not have bought a property in this condominium. The quality of construction is very poor and action must be taken for loss of life and property,” she said.

Police officials said that an FIR has already been registered against the developer on Thursday evening, and that the station house officer of Bajghera police station was at the incident site when the protesters reached there.

Rajiv Yadav, assistant commissioner of police, West Gurugram, said that the residents must submit a written complaint to the SHO. “We are with the residents in the matter and they can submit their complaints in writing to the SHO. We will take suitable action.”

A spokesperson for Chintels India Pvt Ltd, the developer, said, “This is an extremely unfortunate incident, and we have taken it very seriously as the safety of residents is our utmost concern. Upon preliminary investigations, we have come to know that the mishap occurred during renovation work by a contractor being carried out by a resident in his apartment. We had conducted a structural audit last year when complaints first came. We will be initiating a second structural audit at the earliest. In case any defects are found in the structure, we will duly compensate affected buyers or accommodate affected residents in alternate arrangements while necessary repair work is completed. We are fully cooperating with the authorities and ensuring all support. We will do our best to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future. We extend our heartfelt condolence and complete support to the affected families in this moment of grief.”