On March 22, a three-story building in Ramajogipeta, Andhra’s Visakhapatnam district collapsed, leaving three dead and five injured. Among the deceased were two children and a youth from Bihar. The deceased were identified as Durgaprasad (17), Anjali (10), and Chotu (27). Anjali had celebrated her birthday just hours before the building collapsed. The parents of the deceased children, Rama Rao and Kalyani, were also injured in the accident, along with three others, Siva Sankar, Krishna, and Roja Rani. They were all taken to King George Hospital, and their condition is reportedly stable.
According to a resident who was injured in the accident, eight people were living in the building. Rama Rao’s family resided on the third floor, another couple on the first floor, and two bachelors on the ground floor. The Visakhapatnam Commissioner of Police CH Srikanth said that the foundation of the house became weak because a neighbor had dug up nearby land for a foundation. The neighbor was having a borewell dug in the nearby land as recently as the day before the collapse. A case has been registered, and an investigation is underway.
The Greater Visakha Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Commissioner P Rajababu visited the site and said that it was a 40-year-old building. In his initial findings, he believes that the building did not have the strength to hold three floors of weight as it was constructed without pillars. Moreover, it had been raining continuously for the past few days, which could have caused the collapse. The Commissioner added that old buildings at risk had already been identified, and notices were sent to owners to either demolish or vacate them. The owners who do not follow the rules will face action.
