Building collapse probe nails owners, contractor

More than two months after two persons died in a building collapse at Sohana, the inquiry report has held the building owners and the contractor responsible for the tragedy.

The Mohali SDM-led probe panel has held that digging work was carried out in the plot adjacent to the building and heavy machinery was deployed to carry out digging work. The digging was done below the foundation level, which destabilised the building. Further, seepage in the area was also one of the factors that led to the collapse of the building. The contractor followed the owner’s instructions and started digging without taking any preventive measures, noted the 16-page report.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner let off officials of the MC and the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) with the warning that legal action will be taken if any such instance takes place in the future. Directions have been issued to implement building bylaws strictly in the under-construction structures and to take stringent action over violations.

A three-story building collapsed in Sohana village on the evening of December 21. The police arrested the building owners, Parvinder Singh and Gagandeep Singh of Chaumajra village on the charge of culpable homicide. They were granted bail later.