Owner escapes injury by inches as building collapses in Ludhiana

The municipal corporation, building owner pass the buck while a case with former tenant for possession of the property is sub-judice

A major tragedy was averted on Thursday after a portion of an unsafe building collapsed on Deepak Cinema road here while its owner escaped injury by inches.

Building owner Ashok Behal standing next to his damaged scooter at the spot where a portion of a building collapsed near Deepak Cinema road in Ludhiana on Thursday. (GURPREET SINGH/HT)

Ashok Kumar Behal, the 65-year-old owner of the building, which is more than four decades old, runs a tea stall in the adjoining building. On Thursday, Behal had parked his two-wheeler only a minute before the portion of the roof collapsed at the very spot. His two-wheeler was badly damaged.

As seen in the CCTV footage of the incident, recovered from a camera installed nearby, Behal was barely 4-5 feet away from the collapse site.

Even as the remaining portion of the building continues to pose danger to lives, the officials of the municipal corporation (MC) and the owner washed their hands of the responsibility to raze the unsafe building, stating that a case regarding the property was subjudice in a local court.

Behal said, “The building was constructed in 1940 and a portion of it had even collapsed in 2013, but we are unable to raze the structure due to a sub-judice case. The old tenant had filed a case regarding possession of the building in 2013 and the court does not allow us to demolish it. If the permission is granted, I will be the first one to demolish it as I had a narrow escape on Thursday.”

“I was opening the gate of my shop in the morning when the portion of the building collapsed suddenly. I was shocked, but fortunately no one was hurt. The building is deteriorating and we will present the pictures of the incident in court for getting permission to raze it,” added Behal.

Meanwhile, the MC officials also stated that no action could be taken against the building due to the pending court case. Further the officials stated that the owner of the building would be held responsible for any untoward incident.

Assistant town planner Mohan Singh said, “The MC cannot demolish the building due to the court case. We have already served notices to the owners of unsafe buildings in the city to get the structures demolished by themselves or they will be held responsible for any untoward incident.”