Malleshwaram Mantri mall gives itself clean chit to reopen, BBMP says not yet

Even as the  Mantri developers gave themselves a clean-chit and declared the Malleshwaram mall safe, BBMP has refused to give them the permission to reopen.

In an 82-page incident report, prepared by a private consultant the Mantri authorities have claimed that its building is safe to reopen.

The report, which was prepared by Innotech Consultant  Private Limited, has stated the mall could be reopened after the developers fixed the damaged wall.  

"Innotech made an immediate impact study after making 7 visits starting from 16th to 6th FEB and expressed that the incident is limited to the extended slab area and stability of the structure within is safe," the report submitted to the BBMP expert committee said.

The report also recommended the removal of the cement layer in the cantilever slab area, including the cooling tower pipes, to reduce the load on the cantilever section.

 

Also Read: Mantri wall collapse: Another BBMP enquiry that will go nowhere

Going by this report, the Mantri authorities have declared their building as safe and are working on the extended slab areas to make it more safe and strong. 

When Asianet Newsable contacted Innotech, the officials said, as per the client's requirements, several visits were arranged, and a report was prepared, and it is up to Mantri to comment about the report.

Although Mantri is trying its best to present itself as safe by saying the building has not violated any bylaws, the BBMP expert committee chairperson Thippanna said, "The committee will not take this site incident report as final." 

Also Read: Mantri mall now closed, but did BBMP overlook danger signs?

"We had made few recommendations; the mall had to work on that and authorities had given a report saying that these recommendations have been met at the place where the incident had occurred. We will have a meeting and decide on the safety aspects and later give the occupancy certificate which was cancelled a month ago," Thippanna said.

The report was given on February 12 by Mall authorities. The Mantri developers were not available for comment.