Portion of ceiling of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation office collapses

A portion of the ceiling at the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office collapsed on Tuesday morning, triggering concern over the safety of the newly built structure.

According to sources, the incident took place between 9:00 am and 9:30 am inside the underground (UG) floor of the BMC building. Fortunately, at the time of the incident, the office was not yet opened for the day, and no one was present at the spot when the ceiling, covering more than 100 square meters, came crashing down.

BMC Mayor Sulochana Das confirmed the incident stating that the ceiling below the roof had collapsed.

There is a suspicion that seepage from the AC system might have weakened the structure. Though annual maintenance is carried out regularly, the ceiling gave way before repairs could be taken up this year, Das said.

“Nothing has happened to the building. A portion of the ceiling has collapsed, might be due to seepage from the ACs. Most of the time ceilings are damaged to and replaced. This is a part of maintenance,” BMC Mayor said.

The BMC building at Satyanagar was inaugurated on February 16, 2023, by former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The incident has now raised questions about construction quality and maintenance standards at the civic body’s headquarters.