Collapsed building – government begins investigation
Rivers | Across the country, storey buildings are collapsing. Reports of collapses are beginning to worry and raise dust.
In Rivers, the state government has ordered for an investigation into a two-storey building that collapsed recently.
The building collapsed on Okporo Road near Rumuodara in the Obio Akpor Local Government Area.
More than five buildings collapsed across the country this week alone. Many factors had been attributed to the constant collapsing of buildings.
An Engineer spoke to us on condition of anonymity.
“High cost of building materials has led to buying of inferior ones. Check the 16mm of last 10 years, compare to 16mm of today and the stark difference will shock you. I am into building, I tell you the fact” the building engineer said to Dailytab24 when contacted to know his view.
“When you cost what you need, and another engineer comes and cost with the inferior material, you lose the job on the ground of being greedy” he said.
“And manufacturers have reduced the quality of what they produce. So, building collapse will endure.
“Look, buildings should be inspected, but the government demand money to inspect and approve them. Most people building prefer to evade inspections due to the cost of approval”
Rivers government issued a directive for the collapsed building to be sealed, and vowed to investigate the cause of the collapse.
The order came from Isaac Umejuru, the state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, the body responsible for building approvals and plannings.
The order came when he visited the site of the collapsed building on Friday, which injured three persons and a two year old child.
The collapsed building was constructed without approval, and planning was not submitted for checks, Umejuru said while addressing newsmen in the state capital.
He disclosed that the building was under illegal construction of addition of new floor, without reinforcement of initial foundation.
He quoted, “It is an old building that they now put another building on top of, and the second one coming up led to the collapse, but luckily the three people the building collapsed on were saved, and a two-year-old child was there also, but they have been rushed to a private hospital somewhere around Rumudara, and they are taking treatments.
He further said that the government has launched investigation to bring to book the people responsible for the illegal construction.
“We have launched a discrete investigation into the immediate cause and causes of this collapse.
“However, visually, we can see that the building is an old building and someone is attempting to cut corners by adding another floor to it, but the ministry will investigate to find the cause of the collapse.”
Property owners now add floors to their old buildings to up the commercial value of the house.
The practice is now popular, with house rent in the country skyrocketing everyday.
The intention of Rivers State Government is to discouraging property owners by using the culprits of this collapsed building as scapegoat.
The government also urged property owners to consult their experts for advice and approvals to avoid facing sanctions and the law.
