THANE: Panic gripped Devi Chowk area , a middle-class settlement of Dombivli West , when a 35-year-old dilapidated building suddenly began to sink late on Friday due to a major structural damage. Around 250 residents of Nagubai Niwas immediately evacuated their homes and spent the night outside.Civic corporation officials said they will have to demolish the structure as it could pose a risk to the neighbouring buildings too, as by Saturday evening, one of its sides sank nearly 15 inches and the cracks on the main structures began to widen.The first signs of distress were noticed around 9pm on Friday when one of the columns and ceiling slabs in the ground-floor tenement of Shashi Pawar, a resident, developed cracks and rubble began to fall. Pawar alerted his neighbours, a few of whom complained of similar cracks. A quick assessment of the building by some of the residents revealed that something was amiss and they decided to evacuate it and simultaneously alert civic officials.Within minutes, most residents of the ground-plus-four-storey structure rushed out with whatever they could lay their hands on.Civic officials blamed poor maintenance of the structure as one of the possible reasons for the damage. The structure has 72 flats, mostly procured under the pagdi system. Maintenance was always an issue with the residents.The RCC structure is owned by three local developers and a part of the building had recently undergone repairs. A resident said they paid Rs 25,000 each for the repairs.Municipal officials said they had classified the structure as dangerous and now will have to reclassify it for immediate demolition. Area corporator Shailaja Dhatrak said they have been requesting KDMC to assess damaged structures and ensure rehabilitation of residents.A few families were rehabilitated in schools and community halls while others managed to relocate to relatives' places. A decision to raze the structure was yet to be taken at the time of going to press.

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