PMC to conduct survey of buildings after wall collapse incident in Mundhwa

Following the incident in Mundhwa where eight persons, including four minors, were injured, the PMC has decided to conduct a city-wide survey and identify the old and weak structures

The recent wall collapse incident in Mundhwa highlighted the issue of crumbling structures across the city and the civic body’s inability to keep track on the same.

Fire brigade officials and locals try to rescue animals after rescuing 8 people who were trapped after the wall of a residential building collapsed in Keshawnagar, Mundhwa in Pune, on Saturday. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)

While the Pune municipal corporation (PMC) did not have a report on the structures in the city that are in bad shape, following the incident in Mundhwa where eight persons, including four minors, were injured, the PMC has decided to conduct a city-wide survey and identify the old and weak structures, said Yuvraj Deshmukh, executive engineer in the PMC.

According to Deshmukh, it is the responsibility of the developer to carry out a structural audit of the buildings which are in bad shape and are likely to encounter a fatal accident; however, the developer fails to do so.

He said, “Post the survey, we will be sending out notices to all the developers of the societies found to be in tumbledown shape. We will ask these builders to carry out a structural audit of the establishments and share it with the civic body. Developers will be asked to immediately work on the findings of the audit report.”

If any developer fails to abide by the instructions given by the PMC, we will take strict actions against them, added Deshmukh.

According to civic officials, there are many illegal structures in the city as well as the villages recently merged within the PMC limits. These structures are built without proper construction design and permissions leading to a weak structure.