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 As is the rule in the case of lone bidder, tenders can be withdrawn.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.