Lucknow fire building had demolition notice over illegal construction in 2016, revoked within two months

THe three-storey edifice where a tragical go off killed 15 people on mon was issued a demolition prescribe in 2016 over unauthorised construction, which was revoked in less than two months.In a statement released by the Uttar Pradesh government, the building was originally allotted to Vijay Kumar, son of Rameshwar Sahay, on July 11, 1980, under a hire-purchase scheme through a lottery system, news agency PTI reported.In 2005, the property was registered in the names of Vijay Kumar and his wife Usha through a sale deed. The couple later sold the property to Virendra Pratap Shukla and Surendra Pratap Shukla on January 19, 2013. The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) completed the mutation in favour of Virendra and Surendra on August 7, 2014.Also Read: People cling to ropes as fire rips through Lucknow building, killing 15: VideoThe building, spread over around 1,992 square feet, was approved for residential use on August 20, 2014, under the self-certification building plan scheme. However, unauthorised construction was subsequently detected on the premises, following which the LDA registered a case against Virendra Pratap Shukla.After an inquiry, a demolition order against the unauthorised construction was issued on May 10, 2016. The order was revoked two months later on July 5, 2016, raising questions over the circumstances under which the decision was reversed, the statement said.What happened?At least 15 people, mostly students, were confirmed dead and nine others injured after a deadly blaze erupted on Usha Mehta Marg in Lucknow’s Aliganj area on Monday.Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cut short his Aligarh visit and rushed to the accident site. He constituted a two-member Special Investigation Team to probe the tragedy.Adityanath also announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh each for the families of those killed and ₹50,000 for the injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of each deceased, while the injured will receive ₹50,000.Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire may have started in the building’s AC duct, with smoke leading to suffocation due to the absence of a proper exit route, Uttar Pradesh Urban Development and Energy Minister A. K. Sharma said, adding that possible lapses in building standards would be probed, according to PTI.As the fire was brought under control, stretchers were taken inside through an adjacent building. Rescue personnel also created a hole in the wall to facilitate the movement of stretchers into the affected structure.(With inputs from PTI)