City officials in denial as nine-storey “deathtrap” stands proud over Calcutta.
It was the subject of no less than three demolition orders in 1996; it has been described by inspectors as a “deathtrap supported by weak columns and beams”. And yet the nine-storey building that stands at 174 CR Avenue in Calcutta apparently doesn’t exist. At least that is the stance taken by local city officials who fear that an admission of the building’s continued existence would also be an admission of its own inability to demolish the dangerous structure.
The city corporation doesn’t collect tax from the building, and shop owners do not hold trade licences. The city stopped issuing licences from 1996 because, again, that would acknowledge the building’s existence.
Rabindra Gupta, office-bearer of the tenants’ association, says: “The association maintains the building. No one pays rent, since technically there is no structure.”
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