32 families evacuated after police building tilts in Bengaluru: Reports

The commissioner of the Bengaluru civic body told reporters that in view of the situation in the recent weeks, officials have now identified as many as 300 buildings for “safe demolition”.

A multi-storeyed residential building belonging to the police department in Bengaluru tilted on Sunday after cracks reportedly developed near its basement, following which 32 families were evacuated. According to reports, families living in the three-year-old building in the police housing complex near Binny Mills have now been shifted to the newly constructed police quarters in the city's Nagarbhavi area.

Bengaluru police quarters near Binny Mills was evacuated after the building started tilting. 

WATCH | Bengaluru building razed earlier this month after foundation started to collapse

Reports said that the Karnataka state police housing corporation has already initiated a probe into Sunday's incident, but occupants, on the condition of anonymity, told reporters that the work undertaken by the contractor was “substandard”. It is likely that the situation was made worse by the recent heavy rainfall in the city — since the beginning of October, Bengaluru received 77% more rain at 140 mm as against the normal 79 mm — the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) said. Several areas across the city were inundated leaving homes, cars, and property submerged along with the lives and livelihoods of people residing in low-lying areas of the city.

The commissioner of the Bengaluru civic body told reporters that in view of the situation in the recent weeks, officials have now identified as many as 300 buildings for “safe demolition”, all of which are deemed to be in precarious condition. However, the owners of these residential buildings have been asked to provide evidence that the structures are safe, without which the authorities will carry forward with the demolition.

WATCH: Three-storey building dramatically collapses in Bengaluru

As many as four buildings collapsed in Bengaluru during the past three weeks and one of them was demolished after it tilted precariously. However, no casualties were reported since emergency responders managed to evacuate the people from the buildings in time.

On October 7, a five-story apartment in Bengaluru's Kasturi Nagar collapsed only a day after seven died in Belagavi following building collapse. On September 27, a 70-year-old building in Bengaluru's Lakkasandra area had also caved in.