Kolkata: Building collapse that killed 7 prompts safety audit of old Darjeeling supermarket

At a meeting held on Monday, the GTA decided to form an expert committee to carry out a structural study.

A devastating building collapse that claimed seven lives in rain-lashed Darjeeling last month has spurred the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) to carry out a structural study of the town’s 40-year-old supermarket. The building that recently collapsed was 14 years old, while the supermarket building, which houses around 300 shops, was inaugurated in 1975.

At a meeting held on Monday, the GTA decided to form an expert committee to carry out a structural study.

GTA executive sabha member Jyoti Kumar Rai, Darjeeling municipality chairman Amar Singh Rai and representatives of the Old Supermarket Bepari Pariwar, an association of shop owners, attended the meeting. The market will remain open till the panel submits its recommendations.

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On July 22, a four-storied residential building in Darjeeling’s Dr Zakir Hussain Basti crumbled in the early hours following incessant rainfall.

The three families that were sleeping inside were trapped for several hours. While eight people were pulled out alive, seven others were brought out dead. The owner of the building and his family were in Siliguri for treatment.

After the incident, the Chief Executive of the GTA, Bimal Gurung, had asked for the municipality to hold talks with the shop owners and stakeholders of the market, expressing concern regarding safety. Last year, Gurung had proposed pulling the structure down and building a new one in its place.

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