Carlton Towers unoccupied 20 months after fatal blaze

Police investigation into fire that killed 9 making slow progress

The top floor at Carlton Towers, from where people jumped and died in the blaze on Feb, 23, 2010

By Rajnandini Ghosh

BANGALORE (Oct. 18)—Twenty months after a blaze gutted one of the Carlton Towers, the police investigation into the fire is ongoing, the building remains unoccupied and unrenovated, and the nine victims’ families have no answers.

Mr. Raju, a Bangalore Development Authority chief engineer whose office has jurisdiction over Carlton Towers, said: “The building has some legal issues. It is under the jurisdiction of the BBMP now.”

“Family members of the ones who died have filed a case in the court for negligence, against the owners of the Towers,” said the secretary of the deputy commissioner, East Zone, BBMP.
“Nothing can be done unless the case is resolved,” Prakash said.

BBMP ‘fobbing firms off’

Twenty months after the blaze, the building remains unoccupied.

Three companies that were located in Carlton Towers on Old Airport Road told The SoftCopy that each time they contact the BBMP to ask when they can move back in, they are told it will be “a few more months” before the building is functional again.

The investigating officer in this case was unavailable for comment. Subinspector Venugopal of Jeevanbeema Nagar Police Station, where the case for negligence in connection with the blaze was filed, said the investigation is continuing.

Until Feb. 23, 2010, the seven-story building hosted a string of IT companies, and over 1,500 people worked there. Today, it is visited by just two security guards every day.
Security guard Thippa Reddy, on duty at the south gate, said, “The BBMP said the building will start operating from January 2012.”
The property comprises two separate buildings, and the fire was confined to only one. But both the buildings presently are nonfunctional.

Many firms forced to shut down after fire

Mid Day, BOSE, Indi Joe, Star Worldwide Group, Celestial Systems, IAL India Ltd., Hanmer & Partners, Indo-Nippon Foods Ltd., Discovery Networks India and Hamilton Realtors are few of the many companies that had to shift from the building after the fire.

Thakker & Thakker is one of the many companies that closed down after the fire. The marketing head for Bangalore refused to comment on the situation.

The Bombay Post, a high-end restaurant that was located in the building, was also forced to shut down.

Its general manager, who would not give his name because he said he was not authorized to talk to the press, said, “The building still does not have water and power permissions from the BBMP.”

The ground floor of one of the towers is covered by shabby, ripped green cloth where the famous restaurant franchise Thank God It’s

Friday welcomed many Bangaloreans.

A spokesman for TGIF said it had updated its website to reflect the fact that the Old Airport Road branch is closed for renovation. He said the restaurant hopes to reopen in the Towers at the earliest possible opportunity.

The ground floor of the other building has a huge Reliance shop that is also under shutters.

Eateries close to Carlton Towers have lost a great deal of business due to the fact that no one is working in the towers.

“It’s been more than a year—I used to sell more than 500 dosas a day,” the owner of a small shady food stall said.

Shortly after the blaze, Chief Fire Officer N. U. Erappa said the fire was suspected to have been triggered by a short circuit in the building.

About 70 people were injured in the blaze. Some panic-stricken employers jumped to their deaths from the top-floor windows, and others succumbed to their injuries at Manipal Hospital.

Carlton Towers was closed for renovation after the fire and the protracted investigation into its cause has yet to be concluded. Meanwhile, companies that were located there and the family members of the victims are seeking some movement in the case.