3 balconies collapse at unsafe Chintels tower
Incident a stark reminder to events of February last year when 6 floors collapsed partially in a similar domino like fashion, killing two residents
Three balconies of the Tower D of Chintels Paradiso condominium in Sector 109 partially collapsed around 10pm on Thursday evening.
The balcony of the fifth floor first caved in, and subsequently the weight of the debris damaged the balconies on the third and fourth floors — in a stark reminder to the events of February last year when six floors collapsed partially in a similar domino like fashion, killing two residents.
Nobody was hurt in the incident as the tower was abandoned after it was declared unsafe for occupation in the aftermath of the February 2022 collapse.
Officials in the department of town and country planning (DTCP) confirmed the incident and said that the Tower D is not currently occupied and has been vacant since February last year, when it was declared unsafe.
The district administration and DTCP had ordered a structural audit of all nine towers in the complex after the last year’s collapse. According to the report submitted by the experts from IIT-Delhi, five out of nine towers were declared unsafe and will be demolished by the developer.
Manish Yadav, district town planner, enforcement, on Friday said that a team from his department visited the site and are getting detailed information about the incident. “This tower is already vacant as it has been declared unsafe. We have checked the area around the towers and directed the builder to ensure that it is properly barricaded. In case of any untoward incident, action will be taken against the developer,” Yadav said, adding that all steps are being taken to ensure safety of residents in the complex.
The resident welfare association (RWA), meanwhile, said that the balcony collapse caused some panic among the residents who were worried about the situation. “Although this area is barricaded and closed for people, but the situation can turn dangerous if a large section of the building falls down. There are around 15 families still living in Tower G and H, which have been declared unsafe. These also need to be vacated at the earliest and the developer must settle their dues,” said Rakesh Hooda, president, Chintels Paradiso RWA.
The developer said that it was fortunate that the incident happened in the night and there was no person around the tower. JN Yadav, vice-president, Chintels India Ltd, alleged that barricades around the tower were removed by RWA and they had submitted a complaint to the police regarding the matter in July last year.
“We have now again sent a letter on Friday to the district administration and sought permission and police protection to set up barricades around the unsafe towers,” he said.
When asked about the allegations, Hooda, the RWA president said that the developer wanted to barricade the entire green area of the condominium citing safety issue.
