After two days of drama, the five-storeyed building which had partially caved in at Shanthipura near Electronics City Phase II, was brought down on Thursday.
Around 4.30 p.m., the building, which had been reduced to a skeletal structure by the demolition crew, was pulled down into the empty plot opposite it. “It fell like a pack of cards,” said P.R.S. Chetan from the Karnataka Civil Defence, which was providing technical assistance to the demolition crew.
Surprisingly, except for the damage to a compound wall of the guest house situated behind the building, none of the other buildings in the area were damaged.
On Tuesday morning, the building, which was under construction, was reported to have tilted by around 15 degrees. Its demolition started later in the day, and continued cautiously in order to spare the guest house and another building towards which the building had dangerously tilted. “We demolished all the walls in the first, second, third and fourth floor of the structure. Everything that added weight to the structure was removed,” said Mr. Chethan. When the building was reduced to its skeletal form, two machines pulled the structure down.
The cost of the operation that lasted more than 40 hours would have to be borne by the owner, Vijaykumar. Mr. Chethan estimates that the cost of the demolition could be Rs. 4 lakh, with the demolition crew having the right to salvage steel and iron from the debris.
Low priority
Meanwhile, with no damage to nearby buildings, Parappana Agrahara police have deemed the complaint filed against Mr. Vijaykumar by Sarita Jha, a neighbour, as “low priority”.
