Authorities gear up to raze Secunderabad building gutted in fire

Hyderabad: Municipal authorities in Hyderabad are gearing up to demolish six-storeyed commercial building which was gutted in a huge fire last week while rescue workers have still not found any remains of two missing persons.

Nearly a week after the fire incident, the rescue workers continued to look for remains of the missing persons in the huge rubble.

Skeletal remains of one person were found on January 21 and the same were preserved at Gandhi Hospital for DNA analysis.

Three workers Waseem, Zaheer and Junaid were reported missing after a huge fire broke out in the building. Some survivors said the three persons had gone to collect their belongings but were trapped.

A massive fire broke out on January 19 in the building housing the garment store at Nallagutta on Minister Road in Secunderabad.

Two fire service officers were injured while trying to douse the fire, which raged for almost two days.

After the fire, the building’s structural strength has been severely compromised. With experts advising for demolishing the building, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has initiated the process.

The municipal body has called for bids to pull down the building. It issued a tender notice on an emergency basis with Wednesday as the deadline to submit the bids.

GHMC wants the interested party to use the latest technology in pulling down the structure to avoid collateral damage to adjoining structures. The tender value has been fixed at Rs 33.86 lakh for demolition of 1,890 square metres structure, transport of debris and exercise of safety precautions.

According to officials, GHMC will charge the owner with the cost of demolition. The owner had constructed two upper floors without permission and no firefighting equipment was installed inside.