‘Illegal’ basement work, extra floors: What triggered Delhi building collapse
A decades-old student PG building in Delhi's Satya Niketan collapsed following heavy rains and ongoing unauthorized construction. Authorities are investigating the role of structural weaknesses, including basement work and added floors, in the fatal incident.
Why it matters
It highlights the critical safety risks posed by aging infrastructure and unregulated urban construction in densely populated Indian cities.
NEW DELHI: A waterlogged basement, repair work on an ageing structure and possible structural weaknesses are emerging as key factors behind the deadly collapse of a student PG building in Delhi's Satya Niketan.As cops piece together what caused the decades-old structure to come down, eyewitness accounts and preliminary official findings have pointed to a potentially dangerous combination of accumulated water, ongoing construction activity and floors added over the years.Chief minister Rekha Gupta said the building was a very old structure. The ongoing repair work, combined with the accumulated water, led to the collapse, she said after inspecting the site.Police, meanwhile, said renovation work was allegedly being carried out on the ground floor and in the basement before the building collapsed.
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