PANAJI
The District Administration stepped in and demolished a heritage corner of the capital city -- the collapsing ground-plus-one house on MG Road -- following an order issued by North Goa Collector Sneha Gitte after nearly a fortnight of it collapsing in parts and posing a danger to the public.
A heavy posse of policemen and officials from the Collectorate were at the site since early morning when workers with an excavator went about demolishing the house belonging to the Monte Cristo Vaz family of Panaji, said to be more than 100 years old.
Over the last fortnight, meanwhile, the Corporation of the City of Panaji, too, had stepped in by first issuing a notice to the owners as well as more than a dozen tenants to vacate and repair the edifice. It followed up with another notice and quickly sealed the entire premises earlier this week.
However, Friday’s action of demolishing the structure was carried out by the district administration and not the CCP, following Gitte’s orders issued under provisions of the Disaster Management Act.
