Apartment partially collapses in South Kolkata, no casualty reported

Kolkata, Jan 14 A four-story building in the Bagha Jatin area on the southern outskirts of Kolkata partially collapsed on Tuesday morning, causing alarm among local residents.

The ground floor of the structure caved in, causing the entire building to lean precariously against an adjacent building.

However, officials from the Kolkata Police and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) confirmed that no casualties were reported, as the building was unoccupied at the time of the incident.

Teams from the state disaster management department, KMC, and the local police station promptly arrived at the scene to assess the situation.

Debabrata Majumdar, the local MLA from the Jadavpur Assembly constituency, and Mitali Bandopadhyay, a member of the KMC’s mayor-in-council, also visited the site.

“I rushed to the spot as soon as I was informed. The building was undergoing repairs, and I had directed the promoter to pause the work until further approvals were obtained. Unfortunately, a portion of the building collapsed before that could happen,” Bandopadhyay told media persons present there.

She added that the residents had been relocated recently due to the ongoing repair work, averting a potential tragedy. “Had anyone been inside, the consequences could have been disastrous,” she said.

Local residents alleged that the building was constructed in violation of KMC norms. They claimed it was built on a reclaimed water body and that the fourth floor had been added without proper approval, despite the initial permit allowing only three floors.

Debabrata Majumdar confirmed that the building was over a decade old.

In the meantime, police have cordoned off the structure with guardrails and restricted access to ensure public safety.

This incident brings back memories of a similar tragedy in March last year, when 13 people lost their lives following the collapse of an under-construction building in Garden Reach, also in southern Kolkata. In that case, too, violations of building norms were cited as the primary cause.

Source: IANS