An independent team of four experts has been formed to carry out a structural analysis of Mantri Square in Malleswaram to ascertain its safety before it’s thrown open to the public again. Two members of the housekeeping staff were injured when part of a parapet corridor on the rear of the complex collapsed on Monday afternoon.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has temporarily withdrawn the Occupancy Certificate (OC) of the mall. The expert committee is led by Radhakrishna, associate professor at RV College of Engineering, and has three members from Civil Aid Techno Clinic Pvt. Ltd. — its chairman K.S. Jayasimha, technical director R. Nagendra, and senior director M.S. Sudarshan. The committee is expected to submit its report within 15 days.
Mr. Sudarashan said the committee would have its first meeting on Wednesday evening to decide on the inspection protocol. “We will collect samples of the building material used from the place of the accident and will test them at our lab for concrete mix and grade of steel used,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mantri Developers, which owns and operates Mantri Square, released an independent structural inspection report of the accident site claiming that the building was “structurally safe”. The report, compiled by T.S. Gururaj, chairman and MD, Innotech Engineering Consult Pvt Ltd., attributed the collapse to waterlogging on the terrace.
However, BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad said the authorities would only go by expert committee report.
“The area beyond the footprint of the building (balconies) at the rear has been barricaded and supported temporarily with props. It will be restructured before use. The debris has been already cleared and repair work is under way,” a statement from Mantri Developers said.
