Close shave for woman as balcony collapses

Gurgaon: A 45-year-old woman had a narrow escape on Friday when a balcony came crashing down on her in Palm Avenue, DLF-4.
Mandakani Kaul, who resides in house no. 5012 with her husband and two children, was standing around 11.30am in the rear balcony of her first-floor flat. Suddenly, the second-floor balcony directly above gave way and came crashing down on her. The impact was such that even the balcony she was standing on collapsed.
Fortunately for Mandakini, while two slabs fell on her, they may have saved her from the impact of the rest of the debris, and she escaped with minor bruises, a neighbour said.
“We heard Mandakani screaming and rushed to her help. She was trapped in the debris but luckily didn’t suffer any major injuries,” her husband said. After being helped out by residents and fire officials, she was taken to a nearby hospital.
Inspector Jagbir Singh, the SHO of Sector 29 police station, said, “The balcony in Palm Avenue collapsed and a woman came under it. However, she did not sustain critical injuries. No one has filed any complaint yet. The woman is still at the hospital but she is stable now.”
Residents alleged that the three-storey building in Palm Avenue is in a deplorable condition, and that the residents’ welfare association does not carry out yearly maintenance of the structures in the colony.
“This is one of the oldest colonies in the city and the infrastructure is decaying. Friday’s incident was only a wake-up call for us so that we can avert such problems in the future . Luckily, the balcony was not on the building’s front side, else many residents, including children, could have been injured. Proper upkeep of the colony is a must,” a resident told TOI.