Jaipur, 13 November: In a tragic incident late Wednesday evening, the roof of a restaurant collapsed in the Sanganer area of Jaipur, Rajasthan. The incident occurred at the “Harishankar Bhojanalay” located on Tonk Road.
According to police and rescue officials, the building’s roof reportedly constructed with old stone slabs and badly maintained fell in around 7:30 p.m., sending debris onto customers and staff inside.
Two people were trapped under the rubble. Rescue teams reached the scene and pulled them out. One person died on the spot (or before being taken to hospital) and the other has been admitted for treatment.
Preliminary investigations by the Sanganer police and the Civil Defence & SDRF teams suggest that heat from a cooking stove underneath the slab roof, combined with the weight of junk and weakened support pillars, may have contributed to the collapse.
Further, it was revealed that the restaurant structure was old, in a dilapidated condition, and had been marked by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) as being illegally encroaching on road-boundary land. Despite the marking and notices, the establishment reportedly continued operations.
Following the accident, the authorities demolished the remainder of the building to prevent further risk. The owner of the restaurant is currently untraceable and the police have launched a search.
An investigation has been initiated to determine the full cause, hold responsible parties accountable, and assess whether proper safety measures and compliance with building regulations were in place.