Dilapidated building poses threat to locals

Vijayawada: Nirmala Complex, an old building which is in a dilapidated condition in Maulana Panza line, near Sivalayam in One Town, is likely to collapse at any moment. Locals are expressing fear that the century old building could be of life-threatening danger to the locals.

Bricks are falling off the building slab. There are eight shops in the shopping complex, out of which seven shops vacated two years ago. Neighbours have been worrying about the dilapidated building complex and has lodged a complaint with the GMC town planning officials, to demolish the old building for the safety of neighbours.

A gold merchant near Nirmala Complex, K Sivaram Rajesh said that he submitted a memorandum to the VMC officials to take steps to demolish the old building. He said that he submitted another petition in the Lok Adalat as well. He said that no action was taken so far. He expressed that razing the building was an immediate necessity in the backdrop of the collapse of another old building in Guntur recently.

He said that he had asked the house owners to demolish the present structure and construct a new building in place of it. Sk Basha, an iron shop worker near Nirmala Complex, said that there was need to demolish the old building as a precautionary measure.

Vijayawada Municipal Corporation chief city planner A Lakshmana Rao said, “The VMC has already issued notices to all old buildings which were in dilapidated condition posing danger to the locals.”