Curation Team
INDORE: The tragic building collapse in the Ranipura area has raised serious questions about safety and building regulations in the city’s densely populated, narrow streets. The incident, which killed two people and injured a dozen more, has highlighted the prevalence of unauthorised constructions and a lack of maintenance in the area.
Many buildings in Ranipura, including older structures, either lack proper building permissions from Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) or have violated existing norms by adding extra floors and encroaching upon public space. Official sources confirmed that the three-storey building that collapsed on Monday night was one such structure.
According to IMC additional commissioner Rohit Sisoniya, the owner was issued a building construction permit in 1999 for a ground-plus-one-storey structure. “However, he constructed an extra third floor and a tin-shed structure above the permitted construction area,” Sisoniya stated.
IMC officials noted that the building was located in a narrow street at 47/3, Daulat Ganj, Kosthi Mohalla, Gali Number in Ward 60 under Zone 11. “The congested location made rescue and relief operations challenging for the teams that arrived promptly after the incident was reported to the IMC control room around 9:15 PM on Monday,” he said. He added that while the upper parts of the building appeared to be in good condition, a more critical problem lay beneath the surface. Residents informed authorities that the building was a family property with an ongoing dispute among the brothers who owned it.
More critically, the building’s basement was suffering from water seepage for many years, leading to a constant waterlogging issue. This continuous saturation severely weakened the foundation, ultimately causing the building to collapse.
“Residents revealed that the owners did not properly maintain the basement, nor did they report the seepage to the IMC,” he said. He added that the lack of proper care and maintenance led to the progressive deterioration of the building’s structural integrity, culminating in the fatal accident.
