One person was killed and two others injured when a nearly 40-year-old commercial complex of the Belagavi City Corporation on Shivaji Road collapsed in the early hours of Thursday.
The deceased has been identified as Vinayak Shivaji Patkar (45). Srikant Sadashiv Kamble and Balu Ningappa Ningoji, who were injured, have been shifted to the district government hospital for treatment.
According to Executive Engineer (Civil-South) of the corporation Laxmi M. Sulagekar, who rushed to the spot with her staff, the building collapsed around 1.45 a.m.
The three were sleeping in a tin-shed restaurant on the first floor of the complex.
Six shops on the ground floor and the restaurant “Mirchi Cola” on the first floor collapsed. The victims were stated to be workers at the restaurant.
There are 21 shops on the ground floor and eight slots of open space have been leased out to private persons. The lease of the ground floor and the first floor expired in 1994 and 2008, respectively. The responsibility of maintenance was on the shop owners during the period of lease. But, the shops continued to operate. The officials could not immediately confirm whether they entered into fresh lease with the show owners. The shops, which were constructed by the corporation, were modified with encroachments on the slab of the rainwater drain, which also collapsed.
The corporation had leased 3,000 sqft open space on the first floor the open space to an individual, who had built a tin-shed roof and other provisions for the restaurant.
Police said all the three persons had escaped with minor injuries after the building collapsed. But Vinayak went inside to take a personal belonging and came under the debris. A case has been registered with the Khade Bazaar Police Station and further investigation taken up.
