A three-storey building collapsed near Mangla Chowk in Chattisgarhs Bilaspur city on Saturday morning, officials have confirmed.No casualties or injuries have been reported yet. The incident occurred at around 6:40 AM when the area was not crowded and the collapsed building was empty.Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh | A building collapsed near Mangala Chowk. A drain was being built near the building. No casualties have been reported as of now.. pic.twitter.com/74AZaSCR0S— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2023According to officials, the three-storey commercial building housed a pharmacy shop known as Shri Ram Medical Shop, a jewellery shop, and other smaller shops. The collapse took place while the digging work for a drain was going on.A team of disaster relief management reached the spot and is working to clear the debris, confirmed Parivesh Tiwari, SHO, Civil Lines Police Station.Local residents blame authorities for Bilaspur building collapseA drain was being constructed adjacent to the collapsed building, SHO Tiwari confirmed. According to locals, the drain construction was being done carelessly by the Bilaspur Smart City authorities.VIDEO | A three-storey building collapsed near Mangla Chowk in Chhattisgarhs Bilaspur earlier today. No casualties were reported. Drainage construction work was being carried out due to which the building collapsed, says the owner Vishal Gupta. pic.twitter.com/1iMBFvrqOL— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 8, 2023Eyewitness reports said that the foundation of the house had become weak due to the drain construction, and it is alleged that the depth of the drainage was much more than the depth of the foundation of the 25-year-old commercial building.The construction to install a drainage line below the building was being carried on for two days.“The construction work of the drain was done for two days just below the building. It was being done carelessly by the Corporation. They were digging for 10-12 feet below the building which resulted in the house collapse,” Vishal Gupta, a landlord of the collapsed building and shop owner, told ANI. “I have lost all my assets… its a huge loss.”“We had already informed the local civic body officials about the digging work and the risks associated with it, but our complaint was ignored,” he added.Bilaspur locals protest building collapseThe recent collapse has caused a stir among the local populations, who allege carelessness on behalf of the civic bodies. Several people staged a protest around the site of the collapse, preventing JCB machines from removing the debris.Representatives from the Mangla Chowk Traders Association also joined the protest and criticised the corporation commissioner Kunal Dudawat, whose building is about 500 metres from the site.
