Over 100 yr old clocktower at Kozhikode railway station collapses; none injured

Kozhikode(Kerala), Jul 9 (PTI) An over 100-year-old clocktower, which was marked for demolition, at the railway station here suddenly collapsed on Thursday morning, but no one was injured in the incident, police said. According to visuals of the tower aired on TV channels after the incident, more than half of the vertical section of the building collapsed on to platform two of the station. An officer of Kozhikode Railway police station said that the 20-25 meter tall building had been earmarked for demolition due to its poor condition. He also said that there were no passengers on the platform at the time of the incident. CPI(M) MLA P A Mohamed Riyas, referring to the incident, said there should have been warning signs and barricades set up around the building and called for a safety audit of all such old structures in other railway stations in Kerala. He alleged that there was an "irresponsible conduct" on the part of the authorities and it could have led to a major tragedy as thousands of passengers come and go from here. "If cracks were noticed earlier, the authorities should have informed the public about its dangers and to be cautious. Secondly, barricades ought to have been set up. "Besides that, staff should have been deployed to tell passengers to avoid the area. This is something that should have never happened. Its fortunate that no one was injured in the incident," he told reporters here. Riyas said that there should be a safety audit of all such old structures in other railways stations in the state. "While constructing new buildings, we should also ensure the old ones are safe," he said. PTI HMP ROH