Deccan Herald 26.08.2012
3-member technical panel to decide Lansdowne future
The government has decided to form a
three-member committee of experts to decide the future of the historic
Lansdowne building in the city, following the roof collapse incident
that claimed four lives on Saturday.
The committee will decide whether to demolish the structure and raise a new one in its place or renovate the building.
After
a meeting of tenants of Lansdowne building and officers concerned at
the office of the deputy commissioner on Sunday, Medical Education and
district in-charge Minister S A Ramdas announced the constitution of a
technical committee comprising C R Vishwanath of Civil Aid
Engineering, Bangalore, civil engineering expert and vice-principal of
Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE) Syed
Shakeeb-Ur-Rehman and the UNESCO representative in the city. The
committee is bound to prepare a report within a week. Till then, the
area (Lansdowne building) will be prohibited for any activity.
‘Prelude to grave danger’
Shakeeb-Ur-Rehman
warned against buying time over the future of the building. Rehman, who
is also head of the civil engineering department of SJCE, had suggested
repairs for the building in 1996-97. Though the central portion was
repaired, the other portions could not be repaired owing to objections
from shopkeepers.
‘It was anticipated’
Commissioner of Mysore City Corporation M R Ravi said the mishap at Lansdowne building did not come as a surprise.
Participating
in the meeting, the commissioner said the mishap was anticipated as it
was crumbling at several places. It had been decided to renovate 14
heritage buildings, including Lansdowne, at a revised cost of Rs 23
crore under JnNURM. However, the proposal was rejected. Later for
Lansdowne alone, a project estimate for Rs 95 lakh was prepared and
expression of interest was invited. Only one firm expressed interest and
the tender was cancelled. As is the rule in the case of lone bidder,
tenders can be withdrawn.
The commissioner has appealed to the traders to suspend business there for some time and explore alternative arrangements.
Relief hiked
The
district administration that had announced Rs one lakh to the next of
kin of each of the deceased in Saturday’s mishap, revised the amount to
Rs 1.5 lakh on Sunday.
When Ramdas handed over the cheques for Rs
three lakh (Rs 1.5 lakh each) to the next of kin of Anand and his
younger brother Jnanaprakash, the family was not ready to accept them.
They relented later, but felt that the amount was meagre.
