Bhopal News: Balconies Of 40-Year-Old Shops Collapse At Jawahar Chowk; No Injuries; Five Shops Affected; Locals Blame Metro Work
· Free Press Journal
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Balconies of five civic body-owned shops collapsed near Jawahar Chowk on Thursday afternoon, damaging goods and vehicles parked outside.
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Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the incident. The collapse triggered panic among shopkeepers and pedestrians, who rushed onto the street to move away from the falling debris.
The affected establishments include Mohammad Naeem’s bike repair centre, two photo frame shops owned by Anoop Singh Rathore, Kalimuddin’s CCTV camera shop, and Satish Kumar Yadav’s sports goods shop.
Goods kept outside the shops were damaged due to the falling debris. Some cars parked outside Naeem’s repair shop for servicing were also partially damaged.
Old structures blamed
According to shopkeepers, the municipal corporation shops are around 40 years old and have been in a dilapidated condition for a long time. They alleged that despite paying rent regularly, the civic body had not carried out necessary maintenance or repairs.Shopkeeper Mohammad Naeem said cars were parked outside his workshop when the balconies collapsed. “Luckily, the shop boy had stepped out to bring supplies at that time. Otherwise, he could have been injured,” he said.
Shopkeepers link incident to the metro work
Some shopkeepers believe that the ongoing construction of the Bhopal Metro on the main road in front of the shops may have contributed to the incident. They claimed that heavy drilling carried out at night causes strong vibrations that could have weakened the building structure over time. Shopkeepers, however, said no metro work was underway at the exact time of the collapse.
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After receiving information about the incident, MLA Bhagvandas Sabnani and Councillor Jagdish Yadav reached the site and inspected the damaged shops. They assured the affected shopkeepers that necessary assistance would be provided and safety measures would be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.