WHAT'S IN STORE?: The damaged façade of the Pushpanjali complex. — Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD: This could sound strange. But then, the Pushpanjali Complex Owners' Welfare Association strongly believes that Sunday's fire accident in the complex at Koti was not that big or worth the attention it received from officials, public and media.

In a letter to district Collector, copies of which were distributed to the media, the association said the fire broke out "only in two-three shops" and that the stuff burnt included "only clothes, paper and photo material."

"The smoke generated gave the impression that the entire building was on fire, which immediately attracted the electronic media which flashed the news all over the world. Being the biggest high-rise in the area, it attracted the attention of everyone, including the Collector and Minister," association president V. Chakrapani said.

Further, refuting technical evaluation reports by the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad's engineering wing and that of an independent engineering agency, Civil Aid, that the building was unsafe, the association said the items burnt were not those that could "generate enough heat to cause damage to the structure."

It even cited the melting of steel structures in New York's World Trade Center, saying that "highly flammable aero-petrol" had resulted in melting of steel columns. That was not the case here, they said.

"It's strong"

Claiming that more than 300 shop-owners would be affected if the building were to be demolished, the association requested the Collector and the media "not to build up a hue and cry with a fire in two-three shops in a complex of 300-400 shops."

"In our view, the structure is very strong," they said, adding that were ready to take "advice from all departments to prevent future accidents and build a second staircase, apart from providing fire-fighting equipment on each floor."

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