Outer gate of Sibtainabad Imambada in Lucknow collapses

The outer gate of Lucknow’s historical and heavily encroached Sibtainabad Imambada in Hazratganj collapsed on Thursday afternoon. No one was hurt as shops in the area were closed due to the ongoing lockdown.

The outer gate of Lucknow’s historical and heavily encroached Sibtainabad Imambada in Hazratganj collapsed on Thursday afternoon. No one was hurt as shops in the area were closed due to the ongoing lockdown, said officials.

The 173-year-old gate was encroached by some shops, including a restaurant, a rejuvenation centre and a paan shop. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

The 173-year-old gate was encroached by some shops, including a restaurant, a rejuvenation centre and a paan shop, said a rescue operation staff.

“On a normal day, the incident could have wreaked havoc as the market area remains crowded throughout the day,” he said.

District magistrate Abhishek Prakash said, “There has been no casualty. Teams of Lucknow Municipal Corporation, district administration and the police are carrying out a joint operation to remove the debris.”

Municipal commissioner Indramani Tripathi said he spoke to the district magistrate and LDA V-C for setting up a high powered committee to probe into the collapse of the structure.

Prima facie, it seemed that alterations in the structure, including digging of the base, were on. But this has to be ascertained by a team of experts, he said.

“The incident calls for a check of structural strength of all the old buildings in Hazratganj and its vicinity. Those guilty will not be spared. The officials responsible for the upkeep of such heritage buildings,” added Tripathi.

The Sibtainabad Imambada, situated in the heart of the city, was constructed by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah in 1847 for holding majlis and carry other religious practices during Moharram.

Heritage experts said administration officials never made any attempt to get the area and the old gate freed from encroachers.

“The gate was encroached by a restaurant and some shops for decades now,” said Mohammad Haider, mutawali of Imambada, Sibtainabad.

Haider said he had written many letters to the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and also informed the local administration about the possible threat to the old structure.

A few others also claimed that the foundation of many of such old buildings weakened due to Lucknow Metro’s underground work.

Kumar Keshav, MD, UP Metro Rail Corporation, said: “Metro conducted a study before the construction of underground metro line in Hazratganj.”

“The lines don’t pass through the place where the incident has occurred. Besides, train operations were not on for the last 10 days. Above all, plying of Metro doesn’t cause enough vibrations to cause damage to a building,” said Keshav.

Santosh Kumar, SHO, Hazratganj, who was on the spot with his team, said: “We rushed to the spot as soon as we heard about the collapse. No FIR has been written so far. No loss of life or injury has been reported.”

Heritage enthusiast Mohammad Haider said he had lodged a police complaint and named a restaurant owner and another outlet for the encroachments.

Sangeeta Agarwal, owner of Ayurveda Rejuvenation Centre, said: “Fortunately there are no casualties. A portion of our balcony and hoarding were damaged. May be there was some fault with the building itself and hence it collapsed,” she said.

However, restaurant owner could not be contacted.