'Unsafe' Lal Singh Mansion sealed, to be demolished

GUWAHATI: The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) on Thursday sealed the Lal Singh Mansion building, built in 1957, on AT Road after officials marked it "unsafe".
The building is used for both residential and commercial purposes. Of the 32 families living in the building, all but one have moved because of its dilapidated condition. The building is situated on the busy market area on AT Road, with adjacent footpath, AT Road and neighbourhood buildings. Only a few commercial occupants remain in the building.

Now, after finalizing the required logistics, the building will be demolished by the GMC. A committee which was constituted by the then commissioner of the GMC in 2014 to examine the structural safety of the building, opined that it was beyond repair and, as it is located in a densely populated commercial area of Guwahati, it poses a threat to human life.

Following that, GMC commissioner Monalisa Goswami on June 21 this year had ordered that the building be sealed. It also said that as the electrical wiring are in a very bad shape, the building also poses threat of fire hazard. "As such, the committee is of view that the building should be immediately barred from use and the users or owners should be advised to demolish the building. If not done so, the GMC shall proceed with further action to safe guard human life and property," the committee had said.