By Sunny S. Ijomah
Anambra State government has cordon off the site of a collapsed two – storey building under construction at Uhuala Amaikpa-Nsogwu, Umunze in Orumba South Local government area of the State.
The State Physical Planning Board led by its Executive Chairman, Barrister Chike Maduekwe went to the building site for on the spot assessment and seal off.
The collapse which is total, happened on Tuesday and no life was lost, as our correspondent observed on arrival that heaps of debris from the building were still on the construction site.
It was gathered that the building was at the parapet stage before it’s eventual collapse.
Speaking on the development, Barrister Maduekwe emphasized that due to the incessant cases of building collapse in recent times, interim measures have been put in place by the board to deal with the matter.
While expressing worry over the number of buildings without approvals, especially at the hinterlands, Barrister Maduekwe warned that in the coming weeks, buildings across the State without approval, risk being pulled down in line with stipulated Anambra State Laws, as they will keep working towards reducing such occurrences to the barest minimum.
Mr. Nwabufo Anene, the new Acting General Manager of Anambra State Physical Planning Board, sited non-approval, failure, poor mixture and poor reinforcement, as possible causes of the collapse.
He stressed that the State government is not happy about unapproved buildings, as they now have renewed vigour and commitment to go after quacks in the system who cause most of the building collapses, killing people in the process.
Mr. Sunday Umeh, brother to the developer of the building explained that he was somewhere on the fateful day when people ran to tell him that the building had collapsed, that the developer was not at home, even though the building is an old one.
