Ludhiana: Portion of 80-yr-old building collapses again, no one injured

A portion of an 80-year-old building collapsed on Deepak Cinema Road in Ludhiana for the second time in a year on Wednesday night

A portion of an 80-year-old building collapsed on Deepak Cinema Road for the second time in a year on Wednesday night.

The building’s owner says he wants to demolish the building, but a court case is pending regarding its possession. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

A few people were standing near the building a few minutes before the collapse at 8 pm. No injuries were reported.

In July last year, the building’s owner, Ashok Kumar Behal (66), who runs a tea stall in the adjoining building, had a narrow escape. Behal said a court case is pending regarding the possession of the building, due to which he cannot raze it.

Civic body officials, on the other hand, said notices have already been served to owners of illegal buildings asking them to demolish them, failing which they will be responsible for any mishap at the site.

Behal said the building was constructed in 1940 and his tenant had filed a court case to get its possession in 2013. The case is still sub-judice and the court has not allowed demolition of the building. “ I also want to demolish it, as it may lead to fatal accidents,” said Behal.

MC assistant town planner (ATP) Mohan Singh said it is the owner’s responsibility to bring down the building, especially when a court case is pending.

Over 150 buildings at risk in city

There are over 150 unsafe buildings in different parts of the city. A number of building collapse incidents have been reported in the past, but no concrete action has been initiated by the civic body.

A 70-year-old man, Gurcharan Singh, had died after a part of an unsafe building collapsed in Thapran Mohalla in 2015.

The MC officials serve fresh notices to the owners of these buildings before monsoon every year wherein the owners are asked to bring down the buildings by themselves.