Gujarat twin building collapse: The tragedy that was waiting to happen

The twin building collapse in Ahmedabad on Sunday night that left one resident dead was a tragedy waiting to happen, given the dilapidated condition of the structure built over 18 years ago by the Gujarat Housing Board.

As the city received moderate rains over the last one week the collapse was imminent, forcing the municipal corporation to declare two blocks of the Shivam Economically Weaker Section Housing Scheme in industrial area Odhav as “unsafe” and evacuate them just a day before they came crashing down.

But as fate would have it, some occupants – according to the authorities – returned Sunday to collect their belongings without informing any civic official.

Contrary to earlier reports of 10, five people got trapped under debris when the three-storey (ground + 3 floors) block number 23 and 24 collapsed at 8.30pm on Sunday. The rescue operation was over by early Monday.

”One body was recovered and four persons were rescued in a night-long joint drive by the fire brigade and NDRF teams,” said Ahmedabad mayor Bijal Patel.

Those injured have been identified as Kiran Saroj (28), Suresh Hardevbai (35), Bharti Patni (38) and Ajay Patni (20). The deceased was yet to be identified till Monday evening.

”We had inquired with all the 32 families, who were occupants of the two blocked, if any of their members was missing. Only after they confirmed that no one was missing, the work for debris removal started early in the morning,” said a fire official.

There were, however, conflicting reports about when the occupants of the two blocks were served the evacuation notices.

”On Saturday, the Ahmedabad

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