Nagpur: A day after a 52-year-old man was killed when a parapet wall collapsed near Gitanjali Square, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s Gandhibagh zone on Tuesday issued a notice to the owner of Narayan Chambers, directing immediate demolition of the remaining damaged terrace wall and hazardous balcony projections facing Central Avenue.Zone officials told TOI that the notice was issued under Section 264 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations (MMC) Act, 1949.Narayan Chambers, constructed around 1967 in the erstwhile Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) layout, is a ground-plus-three-storey building. Officials clarified that the structure itself has not been declared unsafe. However, they said the immediate concern was the deteriorated terrace parapet wall and several enclosed balcony projections added by occupants over the years.“The reinforcement steel in these projections deteriorates if maintenance is neglected. The collapse appears to have occurred because these portions were not properly maintained,” a senior Gandhibagh zone official said.The tragedy has also brought into focus several ageing buildings along Central Avenue with similar projections and weathered facades. Civic officials said inspections would be intensified and notices issued wherever hazardous projections or dilapidated portions are identified.Sources said the corporation routinely serves such notices, but poor compliance by property owners often allows dangerous structures to remain overlooking busy roads.Monday’s accident claimed the life of Santosh Chhotelal Gaur (52), whose parked SUV was crushed by debris from the building’s terrace parapet wall. The incident has intensified demands for a comprehensive structural audit of old buildings in the Central Avenue-Gandhibagh commercial belt. Local BJP corporator Sanjay Balpande has urged the civic administration to conduct a detailed survey of ageing structures and initiate action against owners of unsafe properties before another fatal accident occurs.The issue also echoed in the Maharashtra Legislature’s Monsoon Session on Tuesday, where BJP MLA Pravin Datke raised the matter, alleging that repeated complaints by the building owner, nearby residents and the local corporator to the NMC’s Mahal Zone had gone unheeded. He demanded 5 lakh compensation for the victim’s family. The House took note of the demand and directed the government to examine the matter.
