Old block of district library collapses in Khammam

Khammam Collector said that there was no loss of life in the incident as the collapsed block was not in use and appealed to the public not to believe the rumours

Khammam: The old block of the district library in the Pavilion grounds area in the city collapsed on Friday and there was no loss of life.

District Collector VP Gautam inspected the site along with Commissioner of Police Sunil Dutt. The Collector said that there was no loss of life in the incident as the collapsed block was not in use and appealed to the public not to believe the rumours.

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The engineers would assess the extent of loss and how much of the damage has been done, so for the safety of the readers, no one should come to the premises of the library for a week while this process takes place, the Collector said.

Alternative arrangements would be made for the readers during this week. The collapsed block and the old building adjacent to it would be demolished and new construction would be undertaken.

As per the directions of Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao estimates would be made for the construction of a new building for the use of students and the public. There were about 150 readers in the new reading block built with 25 lakh last year and no loss of life has occurred as the collapsed old block was not in use, Gautham said.

In view of the collapse of the old building, the impact on the new block would be checked by the engineers. People should not risk their lives by going near the collapsed building, the Collector said while directing the officials to set up barricades around and take protective measures.

Minister Nageswara Rao also visited the site and took stock of the situation. He directed the officials to take measures for the construction of a new building at the earliest. The students complained that the district library chairman Uma Maheshwara Rao lives at Sathupalli and was not available to the students when they wanted to take the poor condition of the building.