Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Jan 17: A crowd of over 2,000 panicky people ran helter skelter after a wall in the third floor of an important landmark of Malleshwaram in the city, 'Mantri Mall' on Sampige Road, crashed at around 1.45 pm on Monday January 16. The incident luckily did not turn into major disaster, as only three women housekeeping staff suffered minor injuries. The mall has been ordered to remain shut for the present.
The injured have been identified as Laxmi (40), Yashoda (40), and Ambram (22). All of them were hospitalized. Laxmi, who was clearing the water that had accumulated in the first floor, ran to save herself after the incident. She slipped and fell, injuring her head. Yashoda and Ambram were having lunch at the second floor, when pieces of cement blocks fell on them, injuring them in the bargain, it is learnt.
As cinema shows were cancelled and the audiences were abruptly sent out, and customers, owners and employees of various showrooms in the mall ran away immediately after the incident, the concerned had to face loss running into lacs of rupees. People turned panicky and tried to bring out vehicles from the parking lot together. This hurry gave rise to melee. For sometime, there was apprehension that the entire building might come crashing down. People moving on the road including vehicles stopped to look what was going on, resulting in total chaos and traffic jam for about four hours.
The entire mall has been provided with centralized air-conditioning system. The machines have been placed on the terrace, and water from there had been seeping down, on account of which terrace and adjoining wall had become wet, it is gathered. A portion of the concrete slab at the edge of terrace fell down on the wall in the third floor. The wall could not take this pressure, and crashed, it is said. In the evening, even the flooring caved in. The police have registered case of negligence against the owners of the mall and its maintenance contractors.
City mayor, Padmavati, said that there are allegations that filtered sand had been used in the construction of the building, which is eight year old. She said that concrete and mortar pieces of the building have sent for laboratory tests, and steps would be taken on the basis of the result. In 2011 too the building had come under scanner, and officials of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike had cleared a portion of its compound wall citing encroachment.
City development minister, K J George, said that he has asked for an investigation report into this episode. He said he plans to call for detailed report on all the huge buildings in the city. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president, Gundu Rao, said guilty will not be spared. The Palike has withdrawn the licence issued to the building immediately after the incident, and its commissioner, Manjunath Prasad, said that the issue of giving licence again will be considered only after finding out the reason for the crashing of the wall, and after obtaining detailed report from structural engineers and getting the building inspected by the Palike through its experts.
Chief executive officer of Mantri Developers, Aditya Sikri, said that the mall was closed immediately after the incident and that steps are being taken to get the entire building inspected and to take steps as may be necessary to ensure its safety.