Saturday’s Lansdowne Building tragedy, which claimed four lives, should come as a wake-up call for all those who were flirting with danger for decades, throwing caution to the winds. When the 120-year-old heritage structure suffered its first setback in 1985-86, where the toilet block collapsed, neither the authorities nor tenants acted to conserve the monument. The Mysore City Corporation (MCC) failed to implement ambitious restoration projects which it has envisaged and the tenants ‘illegally’ altered the building according to their convenience. On multiple occasions, when the Lansdowne Building showed signs of crumbing, none of those responsible bothered to act.
During a meeting of officials, members of Lansdowne tenants’ association and public representatives convened by District-in-charge Minister S.A. Ramdas on Sunday, all these issues came up for deliberation. Shockingly, the tenants asked the district administration to allow them to continue their businesses in the dilapidated structure. However, the request was turned down by Mr Ramdas who said it is too risky.
“I accept mistakes have happened on part of officials and tenants resulting in the loss of four lives. We have to learn from our mistakes. We can’t forgive ourselves if another tragedy happens. With more rain predicted, the building may crumble further and there is no way the tenants can be allowed to step in”, he said. Mr Ramdas has enhanced the compensation announced to `1.5 lakh for the families of the deceased and promised to write to the CM for more compensation.
What next…
Designating the site as ‘red alert area’, where all commercial activities are banned, the minister has formed a three-member technical committee comprising Mr C.S. Vishwanath, founder of Bengaluru-based Torsteel Research Foundation, Prof. Shakid-ur-Rehman, dean of Civil Enginerring Department, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE), and a representative of Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN), which will study the stability of the heritage structure and submit a report within a week with recommendations.
Tenants express ‘no confidence’
The tenants of Lansdowne Building expressed lack of confidence in MCC. There are around 4,000 families dependent on businesses in the building. On a request from Mr Ramdas, the tenants have agreed to suspend their businesses for a week until the technical committee submits its report. However, they said they will resume their businesses after a week and asked the district administration not to stop them, despite the high risks involved.