MARGAO: A woman sustained minor injuries when a large portion of the concrete first-floor gallery of one of the oldest private buildings located in the heart of Margao collapsed on Friday afternoon. A tragedy was averted as the incident took place when the usually bustling market area was relatively deserted, at 1.20 pm. The falling rubble caused damages to a car parked outside the bank located on the ground floor of the crumbling building.
The Margao Municipal Council has issued a notice to the owner, identified as Allen Dias, to take safety measures, and to immediately submit a stability report, said MMC Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar.
The building, located in the Gandhi Market area, is very busy during the morning hours as it is close to the wholesale fruit market. It is occupied by several shop owners, including the private bank and other merchants and services that receive hundreds of customers each day. Interestingly, it was business as usual for them, and the shops stayed open even after the incident.
It may be recalled that a similar incident was reported in 2021 in the Gandhi Market, wherein a portion of another old building, Casa Menezes, had collapsed and ten people had a close shave, with falling debris narrowly missing them. In 2016, MMC had issued notices to the owners of 19 unsafe buildings in Margao. Only a few owners responded to the notices, while most others ignored them.
Apart from the MMC Chairperson, Chief Officer Manuel Barreto, councillor Ronita Azgaonkar and police personnel rushed to the site after they heard about the incident.
“Being a market area, hundreds of people pass by this building, which seems to be in urgent need of repairs. There are many other old buildings in a bad state in this locality; it is a tragedy waiting to happen,” said Azgaonkar.
