The collapse of a nearly 70-year-old two-storeyed building in the narrow lanes of Balepete, where a sweet shop operated, created much drama on Tuesday.
On Monday evening, an employee of Arya Bhavan Sweets in the first floor noticed that the building had developed cracks. By noon on Tuesday, people around the area started gathering around the building. Around 1.30 p.m., the structure came down, and hundreds of onlookers filmed the collapse and posted the clips on social media.
“The workers in the sweet shop relocated on Monday after they learnt that the building was not stable. While the ground floor had the sweet shop, the workers stayed on the first floor and also used it as a godown,” said Hameed K.C., a witness who runs a watch shop opposite the building that collapsed.
Many shops around the building that collapsed were shut on Tuesday. As earthmovers cleared remnants, the crowded locality saw traffic bottlenecks.
M.S. Revanna, assistant engineer of Gandhinagar ward, said a notice was served by the civic body eight days ago as they found that the structure was weak and had asked them to relocate. The police are contemplating action against the owner for endangering the lives of people.
However, Ashwath Narayana, who had rented his premises, said he had not received any notice. “In fact, I have been asking the sweet shop owners to vacate as I wanted to renovate my place. But they refused. In fact, I have lost touch with my tenant and other people have taken over the shop,” he said.
