On Sunday afternoon, a building that housed a PG facility collapsed in Delhi’s Satya Niketan, killing at least seven people and triggering a rescue operation involving the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Fire Service, Delhi Police and other departments.
A large number of properties in the area are used as paying guest accommodation, mainly catering to students. Building-related activities in the area fall under the jurisdiction of MCD. Follow live updates on Delhi building collapse here . MCD officials who reached the site found, as a preliminary assessment, that no new construction was underway at the time of the collapse. However, the owner had recently undertaken some repair and renovation work. The exact cause of the collapse has not yet been established. Officials have, however, indicated that heavy rainfall over the preceding several days may have weakened the old structure. Rescue operations began immediately after the collapse. The collapse comes amid intensified action by MCD against unauthorised construction and misuse of premises, following recent incidents in Saket and Malviya Nagar.
The area is a densely populated resettlement colony in South Delhi, where plots are typically small, measuring around 55 square yards. As of 8:30 am on Monday, debris removal and site clearance were continuing and were expected to be completed by the end of the day.
