Delhi: Another building collapses at Connaught Place, no casualties

A single-storey building which had been lying vacant for a decade collapsed at Connaught Place in central Delhi on Saturday night, police said.

No casualty has been reported, they said. The building situated in L block in Middle Circle of Connaught Place caved in around 9 PM, police said.

Preliminary probe suggests that excess load on the terrace could have led to the collapse.

Sources claimed that one of the rooms in the building was used by labourers to store debris from the construction work nearby.

The police have informed the NDMC about the incident and said that a probe would be initiated.

A crime and forensic team have been called in to probe the matter, they said.

The incident comes after a recent order by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) asking 21 restaurants in the area to shut down their rooftop sections.

The roof of a vacant shop on top of Jain Book Depot in Connaught Place’s C block had collapsed last week, following which rooftop sections of 21 resto bars were closed down.

According to NDMC norms, terrace or balconies in heritage buildings cannot be used for any kind of commercial activity.  The civic body has also decided to conduct a survey of all “dangerous” buildings in the area by the end of this month to avoid any mishap and formulate a policy to regulate structures installed on rooftops in commercial centres.

It had recently formed a six-member panel comprising structural safety experts from IIT-Delhi, CPWD, NDMC and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of the area to inspect the site and ascertain the reason behind the cave-in.