PMC cites safety concerns as adequate permissions were not taken regarding strength of structure following blast
A day after MiD DAY carried a report of German Bakery to be reopened shortly (German Bakery to reopen next week), the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) raised questions regarding the re-launch citing safety of public as the reason.
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Remembering those lost: Many citizens turned up at the German Bakery to pay homage to those who lost their lives due to the bomb blasts that rocked the popular eatery on February 13 2010. Yesterday marked the third anniversary of the blast where 17 people were killed and over 60 injured. Pic/Krunal Gosavi
According to sources, the owners of German Bakery have not adhered to the order to ‘stop working’ inside the premises and have not submitted the required Structure Stability Report (SSR) of the building following the blast.
The new owners of German Bakery had declared their intention to reopen the bakery following the bomb blasts three years ago. Vivek Kharwadkar, Additional City Engineer, PMC, said, “The issue of public safety is more important than the re-opening of the bakery. Even though, no notice was issued to the German Bakery in the last several months, it was the responsibility of the bakery to complete its SSR first and then open to the public. The Bakery owner had not responded to any the two notices sent previously.”
Jayant Sarwade, Executive Engineer, Building and Permission, said, “The main question is whether the building is still safe for the public. We had asked the bakery owner on February 2, 2010, to assess the condition of the building by conducting a scientifically done SSR and submit it to PMC. Till date we had not received any such report from the bakery owners. This is a strong reason to stop the reopening. We can’t put people’s lives at stake.”
According to Sarwate, they had also issued a notice of the BPMC Act under section 260/1 to stop the ongoing work of the structure with a spiral staircase. However, no reply was received from the bakery owners. The internal changes made after the blast are unauthorised as no permission was taken for renovation.
Vikrant Shewale, son of Vijay Shewale, the new owner of German Bakery, said, “We have all the required papers and permissions, including SSR, to open the bakery.”u00a0
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