The Chennai Corporation has taken over the building in Teynampet the
concrete sunshade of which collapsed killing a woman and injuring two
children.

A senior corporation official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said that the death, resulting from the collapse of the
second-floor sunshade, was an unfortunate incident, and revealed that
more than 20 such buildings in the area, including the one which had
partially collapsed, were illegal constructions.

“Most of the
people in the area are slum dwellers and had sites allotted to them
under the Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme. They were
allowed to build houses only on the first floor, but a few of them have
violated the guidelines and built multi-storeyed structures,” the
official said.

He also revealed that the land on which the
buildings are constructed belonged to the slum clearance board, and that
notices were now being readied to be seant to all residents who had
violated guidelines and illegally constructed multi-storeyed buildings.

“Our
officials were preoccupied with clearing obstructions and
encroachments. But after this incident, they have been instructed to
make sure that such incidences do not recur,” he added.