Timely messages in social media and an equally quick response from various departments averted a building collapse and prevented human loss at John Bazaar on West Boulevard Road here on Monday.
Life was normal for the shopkeepers of a 60-year-old building made of mud-brick structure, located adjacent to Amma Unavagam, as they were transacting business until 4 p.m.
They even ignored warnings from a few passers-by that the building was in a precarious condition and could collapse any time.
But shopkeepers in an opposite building, who acted swiftly, took pictures of the dangerous building on their mobiles and sent messages on WhatsApp platform to various groups, thereby reaching the Tiruchi Corporation officials.
Upon receiving inputs, the officials of Tiruchi Corporation, Fire and Rescue Services personnel, Police and Tangedco rushed to the spot and swung into action. Soon after forming barricades to control the crowd and disconnecting power supply, they began demolishing the dangerous building. An earthmover of Tiruchi Corporation, which was engaged to raze down the building, completed the task without causing damage to adjacent buildings.
It was completely razed down within an hour.
“We mobilised men and machines with the support of various departments within an hour after receiving inputs from our field staff and the shopkeepers of John Bazaar. We are relieved that we demolished the building before any life could be lost,” a Corporation official told The Hindu .
“We need to acknowledge the role of a few WhatsApp groups in spreading the message quickly. Otherwise, the building could have claimed lives,” said S. Shanmugam, one of those engaged in demolition task.
It is said that there was litigation over the ownership of the building between Arabic College management and one Kader Badsha for some years.
The Arabic College management had recently won the case.
Inquiries revealed that the building did not figure in the list of dangerous buildings identified in a survey by the Tiruchi Corporation after the building collapse that claimed four lives on Thanjavur Kula Street near Rockfort temple in September,2017.
Asked whether the owner of the building at John Bazaar was served notice, an official of the Corporation said that notice was not served due to confusion over ownership.
However, the shopkeepers were apprised of the dangerous situation on Saturday.
