- Residents near the collapsed building in Delhi's Satya Niketan fear their buildings are unsafe
- Debris removal is risky due to unstable adjacent five-storey building without pillars
- Authorities evacuated people and installed support beams to stabilise nearby structures
People living in narrow, multi-storey buildings near the one that collapsed in southwest Delhi's Satya Niketan on Sunday, killing six, have expressed fear about the structural integrity of their own properties.
The biggest concern is that removing the debris of the collapsed building could affect the stability of the adjacent building, sources said.
The neighbourhood, teeming with students due to its walking-distance proximity to some popular Delhi University colleges, has dozens of regular houses that have been converted into paying guest accommodation with several hotel-like rooms.
Thirteen people have been rescued from the ruins of the paying guest building that collapsed yesterday. Many people, mostly students, are still feared trapped under the concrete slabs.
The task of clearing the debris is not going to be easy, sources said.
This is because the condition of the building next to the one that fell does not give enough confidence to the workers that it would stand for long. As a precaution, the authorities have evacuated people living in that building.
Photo credit: PTI
Like the one that disappeared in a cloud of dust in seconds, the adjacent building is also five-storey high. An initial assessment indicated this building did not use pillars but followed an old method of construction that joined bricks directly together.
For now, the authorities are working on installing a support system to stabilise the building next to the debris of the collapsed paying guest accommodation.
Delhi Municipal Corporation Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar told NDTV that rescuers have been working non-stop looking for people who may still be trapped under the debris.
"The magisterial investigation will look whether there was no entry or exit and whether a renovation was going on illegally," he said, adding the nearby buildings have become unsafe due to yesterday's incident.
"We have pasted notices and installed support structures. The MCD has been working to demolish illegal buildings across Delhi. This lane is a commercial lane. The complete picture will come out once the investigation is done," he said, referring to the Satya Niketan neighbourhood.
At Ground Zero, the rescue operation went on through the night and continued till daybreak. It is not over yet.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered a magisterial investigation into the incident. The police said a case has been filed against the building owner, Hariram, and others. All the accused are on the run.
The building that crumbled was over 40 years old. Many of its residents were studying in the nearby colleges that form a part of what is known as South Campus. The incident happened while basement repair work was going on.
