A four-storey building in Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar area was evacuated on Sunday after it began tilting, prompting the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), police and fire department teams to cordon off the surrounding area over fears that the structure could collapse.
The building was emptied as a precaution and has been kept vacant while authorities inspect its condition. The area around the structure has also been sealed to prevent people from approaching the site. MCD officials reached the location, examined the building and began further action, according to the report.
Former mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal, who said he reached the spot after receiving information about the incident, said he noticed a crack between two houses and found that one of the buildings had tilted. He said MCD, police and fire department teams also arrived and that the inspection indicated a risk of collapse.
“ The building can collapse at any time and a major accident could occur,” Aggarwal said, according to the report. He added that a notice had been issued to the owner of the building. The report did not specify the contents of the notice, the building’s age, the cause of the tilt or whether any residents were injured.
The evacuation has brought renewed attention to building safety in densely built parts of Delhi, where closely spaced structures can leave little room for emergency access or evacuation. In this case, the reported crack between two houses and the sudden tilt led authorities to restrict access before any collapse was reported. The MCD’s inspection and the continued cordoning of the area are now central to determining what action will follow.
Aggarwal called for strict action against illegal and dilapidated buildings. He also questioned how multi-storey structures could be built without officials noticing construction activity. His remarks included allegations of official collusion in the construction of such buildings; those allegations were not independently established in the report.
The incident comes days after a building collapse in Delhi’s Satya Niketan on September 6, in which at least seven people were killed. That structure was reportedly being used as accommodation for boys. The earlier collapse has heightened concern around the safety of buildings used for residential and paying-guest accommodation, although the Gandhi Nagar incident is separate and no link between the two cases has been established in the available report.
The affected building in Gandhi Nagar remains evacuated, while the area continues to be guarded by the authorities. Further investigation and action by the civic administration are pending, including a determination of the structure’s safety and the next steps under the notice issued to its owner.
