Around 30 working professionals in Kempapura in north Bengaluru had a narrow escape on Thursday, 6 February, when the building they were living in suddenly began to shake and then tilted.
The incident took place at Hebbal-Kempapura’s G Ramaiah Layout at around 7.30 am, according to officials, and the residents ran out to save themselves. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident, as the building did not fall. The building continues to stand at a dangerous angle.
Officials say that construction activity being carried out in the plot next to the building caused the incident. According to the house owner, a JCB carrying out excavation work hit the building’s foundational pillar, causing it to tilt.
The five-storeyed building has three houses on each floor. Residents rushed out of their homes when they felt the building shaking and ran out. Some had reportedly even jumped out of the windows of the building in panic.
People in the neighbouring buildings were also in a state of fear as they were scared that the building would fall on their houses.
The residents soon informed the authorities and fire and emergency services rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area.
The BBMP and the fire department officials who were present at the site told Deccan Herald that the tilted building will have to be demolished.
A resident of the neighbourhood, an engineer Ramchandra Kumbar, told The Hindu that he had noticed some cracks in the opposite building but had not paid much attention to it. However, his wife asked him to return from work when the building tilted.
The BBMP Commissioner Anil Kumar visited the site of the incident and said that action will be taken against the owner of the neighbouring site where construction work was being carried out.
In July 2019, an under-construction building had partially collapsed in Thomas Town near Hutchins Road in the city. The building while collapsing tilted on an apartment next to it, causing a part of the latter's parking area to cave in. Five people had lost their lives in the incident.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)