The incident is not the first one, in the past two years, 18 people have lost their lives in building collapse. “There are close to 1,500 buildings that have been listed as ‘unsafe’ by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Most of these buildings are located in north and central Kolkata in Borough 4 and 5,” said Gorachand Mondol, director general, buildings.

KMC officials, however, claim that their hands are tied by the Tenancy Act. The act does not allow the owners of such buildings to ask their tenants to vacate the building. “Even when we are all set to pull down a building, the owner comes to us with a stay order from the court,” said an official.

Most of these buildings are disputed properties and thus they are seldom repaired or renovated. “We cannot just pull down a building on humanitarian grounds,” said Member Mayor-in-Council Dipankar De.