Four-storey building collapses in Subzi Mandi area, 22 rescued

As many as 22 persons were rescued after an dilapidated and abandoned four-storey building collapsed in the wee hours of Tuesday in the Subzi Mandi area of North Delhi, said an official, adding that no major injuries were reported.

The rescued persons were trapped in the structurally damaged building, adjacent to the one that collapsed.

The official further said prior intimation regarding the dilapidated condition of the building, in a congested lane in Punjabi Basti, had already been given to the MCD by the local police.

According to the police, a call regarding the building collapse was received at 3 am. After getting information, two fire tenders, six PCR vans and four ambulances were rushed to the spot. Staff from the SDM office also reached the spot.

As per the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the building was found to be in a dangerous state during a regular inspection and was vacated in the last week of August.

This is not the lone case as such collapses have been reported on a regular interval in the past. Data from the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) mentioned that there have been 27 calls regarding the collapse of buildings till April 20 this year which is up from 12 during the same period in 2024. This marks a 55.5 per cent increase in such incidents over the previous year.

Experts have attributed the problem of collapse to both age of these buildings and the use of inferior materials in their construction.

According to Aman, a civil engineer, the structures in unauthorised colonies tend to deteriorate faster and have a shorter lifespan than those in planned areas.

“Even a 20-year-old building can collapse if below average construction practices are followed, which is very common in such areas as there is no one to oversee the construction work,” he said.

“These structures breach multiple rules. They use poor quality materials, ignore the required spacing between buildings and exceed approved height limits,” the engineer mentioned.

According to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), there are 1,731 unauthorised colonies in the capital.

MCD Standing Committee chairperson Satya Sharma told The Tribune that the MCD conducts periodic surveys of old and unsafe structures — the last one was carried out in June — after which buildings found dangerous are marked and vacating is ensured.

She said the owners were informed to either rebuild or simply vacate the building.

“For those living or working in nearby premises, it isn’t feasible to ask them to vacate simply because an adjacent building has been declared unsafe,” she mentioned.

Previous cases in Capital

August 20: Three workers were killed after a three-storey building collapsed near Sadbhavna Park in central Delhi’s Daryaganj.

August 15: Six people were killed after part of the roof of a dargah, or the tomb of a Muslim saint, collapsed in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area.

July 12: A four-storey building collapsed in the Welcome area of Northeast Delhi, resulting in two deaths and eight injuries.

April 19: A multi-storey residential building collapsed in Northeast Delhi’s Shakti Vihar area, killing 11 people. The building was around 20 years old and had structural deficiencies.