HYDERABAD: Issuing a report on the deteriorating condition of the “100-year-old” Nanking Chinese Restaurant at Park Lane of SP Road in Secunderabad, civil engineering faculty of the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) stated that the building poses a significant risk of collapse even from a minor earthquake or heavy rainfall.
They recommended GHMC officials, at whose behest the structural stability report was prepared, to take immediate action to demolish the building while stressing the need to avert a potential catastrophe that could lead to loss of life among the building’s occupants and others.
According to the report, the restaurant’s two-storey building has been deemed uninhabitable due to extensive structural damage, including severe water accumulation and widespread cracks.
Noting that the risk associated with the Nanking Hotel is alarming as hundreds of people visit it daily, the faculty stated the hotel’s building is a ticking time bomb in its current state. “The distressing conditions including blown-out plastering, cracked walls, rusted iron bars, and separation of slab blocks further illustrate the urgent need for the authorities to act decisively,” the faculty said.
They also recalled the tragedy at the hotel in 2012, where a chef died and the restaurant owner was injured. “Now, concerns have mounted over another dilapidated restaurant building, where again the safety of patrons is at stake. Action must come before it’s too late,” the faculty added.