The collapse of the balcony of a two-storey building at Yadagirigutta on Friday which claimed four lives was due to poor construction, and preliminarily police have found negligence of the building owner. Yadagirigutta police registered a case and opened an investigation.
According to officials at the incident scene, the whole balcony that was constructed as an extension lacked any structural support such as beams and pillars.
“Seeing the collapsed debris one could say that the iron and steel used in the construction was also not adequate. The complete structure fell down as sheets of concrete,” an official involved in the rescue operation said.
For locals, building owner Gundlapally Dasharath Goud, who was also killed in the incident, had built the balcony extension about 10 years ago, while the building itself was nearly 35 years old.
The two front portions were run for commercial purpose and the rear portions were let out for families. The owner resided in the upper floor, and it was reported that the victim’s wife had just exited the puja room near the collapse area when the incident took place.
Police also reported that authorities had already issued notices to residents in the colony regarding road-widening works, and reportedly the works were to start in a couple of months.
