Building In Bengaluru Police Quarters Tilts, 32 Families Evacuated

Thirty-two families of police personnel were evacuated from a three-year-old building in Bengaluru after cracks developed near the basement and the structure tilted.

The families living in the seven-storey building at the police housing complex near Binny Mills have now been shifted to a newly built police quarters at the city's Nagarbhavi area.

The building near Binny Mills is the latest structure in Bengaluru to give a scare to residents. In the past three weeks, three buildings in the city collapsed and one was demolished after it tilted precariously. Fortunately, there were no casualties as the structures were evacuated in time.

Heavy rain in the city is said to be one of the reasons for the collapse of buildings. In the first fortnight of this month, Bengaluru has recorded more than 155 mm of rain, more than double the usual figure of 73 mm.

"We have identified over 300 houses for safe demolition. Notice has been sent to respective house owners to provide evidence that their house is safe," Gaurav Gupta, commissioner of the city's civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike told the media.

The survey to identify weak buildings has been going on for over two years in Bengaluru, but it was intensified after the first building collapsed in Wilson Garden on September 27. In that incident, which was captured in a horrifying video, 50 labourers working in the metro rail project had a narrow escape.

A day after the Wilson Garden building collapsed, another structure at Dairy Circle fell. It was followed by a building collapse at Kasturi Nagar. A building in Kamla Nagar was demolished after it tilted.