This Article is From Aug 04, 2013

100-year-old building collapses in Delhi, catches fire

New Delhi: A 100-year-old dilapidated building, opposite the famous Gauri Shankar temple in Chandni Chowk area in Delhi, has collapsed triggering a minor fire, police said on Sunday.

However, nobody was injured as the residents had evacuated the building before the incident that took place on Saturday night.

According to locals, a portion of the building named B M Shah, which housed several hundred shops, offices and godowns, had begun to leaning on a side, seeing which the municipal corporation officials were informed.

However, as it was a weekend, none of the officials turned up and at around 1 am, the five-storey building suddenly started collapsing after which the police and fire officials were called in, they said.

Following the collapse, a godown inside the building had caught fire due to a short circuit.

However, the firemen removed the rubble and extinguished the fire.

The building had been declared dangerous while a case has been registered against unknown persons in this regard.

Portions of the building which are still standing are being demolished by the MCD and the work will continue on Monday as well, with the fire department monitoring the progress, police added.

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