Apartment compound wall crashes; crushes cars

Six cars at Alpine Eco apartments in Doddanekundi were crushed into unrecognisable heap of metal as the compound wall of the apartment complex crashed on them during heavy rain that lashed city Monday night.

Adding to the loss of the four-wheelers, the residents of the four-year-old apartment complex faced the threat of flooding in the parking lot as rain water gushed in. The apartment owners and tenants had to engage three water motor pumps to drain the rain water from the parking lot. The slush accumulated around the apartment complex has made the residents’ life miserable.

On Tuesday, the owners of the four-wheelers that damaged due to the compound wall collapse filed a complaint against the builder, with Mahadevapura police. Finally, BBMP staff and Fire and Emergency Services personnel came to the rescue of the residents by removing debris of the compound wall.

“The builder had not ensured quality in construction of the 10-floor residential apartment complex where around 700 families reside. Most of the walls have developed cracks. We have informed all the authorities concerned, including BBMP officials, to take necessary action but nothing has happened till now,’’ said Ipsita Bose, secretary of the apartment owners’ association.

Ipsita said the builder had handed over the occupancy certificate to the residents in 2009. “The compound wall was constructed four years ago. If the wall constructed four years ago collapsed due to the rain, one can imagine the quality of this apartments,’’ she said.

Residents said they filed an appeal in the High Court to ensure that fire and emergency officials visit the apartment complex to inspect whether or not the builder had installed the necessary fire safety equipment.

“As per the High Court order, the fire and emergency officials had inspected this apartment four months ago but we are yet to receive the report from them,’’ said N Kodandarama Reddy, president of the association.

Residents complained that the builder had collected Rs 7 crore from them to provide sewage treatment plant (STP) and other amenities, but deposited only Rs 11 lakh with Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and pocketed the rest.

“We somehow managed to get permission from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) recently to operate the STP,’’ said one of them.
The builder was not available for comment despite efforts made by dna.