An officer in Public Works Department (PWD) at Police Lines D J Patel said that they were constructing a new over-head water tank in place of the existing one. He said the rain water caused the collapse.

The Sabarmati Railway Police Lines was built some 36 years ago. Patel said that the age of the structure also contributed to the collapse. He said PWD did not come to know of the bad shape of the flats as they were unoccupied.