PANJIM: A portion of an old building in Panjim collapsed during the early hours of Sunday as incessant rains lashed the State.
The one-storey building, near Azad Maidan, that also housed Prakash Lodge was in ruins and at around 3 am a portion collapsed due to heavy rains.
The personnel of Fire and Emergency Services rushed to the spot and found that three people who were sleeping inside the building were trapped under the debris. They were rescued immediately.
A shop on the ground floor of the building was damaged in the incident. Mayor Uday Madkaikar has urged the government to give powers to the City Corporation to grant repair licence to applicants of old buildings seeking repairs.
“We have come across cases wherein owners are not allowing tenants to carry out repairs of the old building. There are buildings in Panjim that are unsafe and hence we seek from government to grant us powers to allow repair licence,” he said in a video message.
The City of Corporation of Panaji (CCP) had floated a tender to conduct structural stability of old buildings in the city.
Four days ago, another structure located behind main post office in Panjim was also damaged.
