Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will now have to spend `20
lakh to demolish the building in Someshwaranagar near NIMHANS that
partially collapsed killing three people and injuring eight others on
August 19. The ground floor caved in due to overload and alleged
violations in construction by the builder.

BBMP Executive Engineer
S V Rajesh told Express: “The amount has been fixed according to the
PWD guidelines. The area is big. To demolish each square metre, it will
cost `650. If transportation charges and services are also included, it
will cost `20 lakh. The decision to demolish two adjacent buildings,
which also have extra unauthorised floors, will be taken after a report
by the private construction testing expert Civil-Aid. It is likely to
come on Tuesday.”

Rajesh said that the BBMP will recover this
amount from the builder later. It also will issue notices to builders of
other such buildings for violation of the bylaws. “We will first deal
with this building and later identify others,” he added.

Krishna
Murthy, engineer with a private building demolition service agency that
will do the job for the BBMP, said the building has to be demolished
manually. “So far, only three floors have been demolished. The rest will
also be done carefully, no machines will be used to demolish as the
roads are narrow,” he added.

Builder Surrenders

Meanwhile,
the builder of the collapsed building, Mohammed Saleem, who was
absconding after the incident, surrendered to the Siddapura police on
Monday after obtaining anticipatory bail from a fast-track court.

Saleem
alias Chair Saleem, along with his wife Fathima Begum and son Mohammed
Mudasir, who are also the board of directors of the construction firm R K
Gold Developers obtained anticipatory bail on Saturday. He was
questioned  for a while and was sent back, police said.

Saleem
told Express: “I will negate the damages for the unfortunate incident.
The surrounding  houses will be renovated  and the affected here will be
given all assistance. The customers will be refunded or accommodated in
other buildings. I execute projects through my engineers and so have no
knowledge about any violation. The BBMP demolished my property without
my permission.” 

No Relief for Evicted People 

On August 19,
the ground floor of the under-construction building being built by R K
Builders collapsed. The BBMP Commissioner wrote to the Disaster
Management Coordinator Cell on  the same day. As many as 23 National
Disaster Response Force personnel from different regions were deputed to
monitor the demolition work and to prevent any untoward incidences and
causalities.

The people in the surrounding houses were told to
leave and `30,000 was supposed to have been given by the BBMP as a
transit arrangement for a few months. About 17 families have moved, but
no money has reached them so far.

A resident of an adjacent
building, Mohammed Kafeel, said,”We are living in a cement sheet house.
After the building collapse, we were assured of some facilities till
this mess is cleared. But nothing has happened. The builder is out on
bail, and still out of our reach.”