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A four-storey illegal residential building, Subho Apartment, in Baghajatin Vidyasagar Colony, South Kolkata, collapsed onto a neighbouring one-storey house earlier this week while being lifted to correct its tilt. The building had started tilting four years ago due to soil and foundation failure, and efforts to realign it using hydraulic pressure caused it to collapse. Fortunately, no one was inside when the building fell as all residents had evacuated the previous month. An investigation revealed that the building had been constructed without proper approval, and an FIR was filed against the building owners and the company involved in the lifting work. The incident left at least six families homeless.
An illegal four-storey residential apartment in Baghajatin Vidyasagar Colony, South Kolkata, had collapsed onto a nearby one-storey building earlier this week at 3:05 PM. The apartment, which had been built 11 years ago, had started tilting four years ago due to soil and foundation failure. Efforts to realign the building using hydraulic pressure were underway when the structure suddenly gave way. Fortunately, no one was inside at the time of the collapse, as all residents had vacated the building the previous month to facilitate the repair work. However, at least six families had been rendered homeless due to the incident. Advertisement
Civic officials confirmed that the building, which had tilted at a 45-degree angle, would need to be demolished to avoid further danger. They stated that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) began the demolition process at 6 PM on the same day.
A Haryana-based company that specialized in "building-lifting and shifting with foundation" was handling the realignment process. They had been using hydraulic pressure to lift the building when it toppled. The repair work, technically known as 'hydraulic underpinning,' had aimed to restore the building's alignment, which had shifted due to foundation failure. Since all the residents had moved out in December last year for the work, no one had been inside when the building fell.
Officials from KMC revealed that the building had been constructed without the necessary permits and without any approved plans. A senior official from KMC's buildings department explained that the building had been built on a filled-up pond without a sanctioned plan, and no approval had been sought from the department. The official further mentioned that the tilt had developed later, and the owners had opted to use technology to fix the issue without consulting the civic body. They stated that had the owners sought advice from the department, a structural engineer would have been involved to ensure the safety of the work.
An FIR had been filed against the eight flat owners, including the developer Subhas Roy, who was reported to be on the run, and Abhishek Nagra, the owner of Nagra Building Construction Pvt Ltd, which had been handling the lifting work.
At 3:05 PM, residents of Vidyasagar Colony, located near the Baghajatin State General Hospital, were shocked when the building collapsed. The impact had generated a large cloud of dust, alarming the local residents, who had fled their homes in panic.
Ujjwal Kumar Sarkar, the Director-General of KMC's buildings department, had called the incident "unique" and explained that such a sudden collapse was rare, even though the department had handled other cases involving tilted buildings due to foundation defects. He mentioned that the current challenge was to demolish the structure carefully to avoid damage to the surrounding buildings.
The building had been constructed on a two-cottah plot, where there had previously been a one-storey house and a pond. Local residents had shared that the pond was filled in, and the old house had been demolished to make way for the four-storey apartment, which had been completed in 2013. The promoter, Subhas Roy, had sold five of the eight flats for prices between INR 18 lakh and INR 22 lakh each, with most of the buyers reportedly paying in cash. The landowners had received one flat each, while the promoter had kept two flats for himself.
Former RSP councillor Debasis Mukherjee had raised questions about the KMC's role in the incident. He had asked why the buildings department and the local councillor had not taken action when the tilt had become noticeable four years ago. He believed that if they had intervened, the disaster could have been prevented.
The collapse of Subho Apartment in South Kolkata has left several families homeless and raised serious concerns about illegal construction and the lack of proper oversight in the city's building projects. Despite efforts to correct the tilt using technology, the failure of the building's foundation led to its collapse, highlighting the dangers of unapproved constructions. The incident underscores the importance of regulatory compliance and proactive measures to prevent such disasters in the future. With an ongoing investigation, authorities are focusing on holding those responsible accountable, but the impact on the affected families remains significant.
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