FORT-PORTAL SHOPS CLOSE AS BUILDING COLLAPSES

By Sylivia Kugonza
In Kabarole—

The building housing Cornerstone Hotel located on Magambo Street collapsed at 9:00am last Thursday. The collapse of the building was caused by two water tanks which had been installed on top of a section of the building.

Jimmy Balawa, the Fort Portal Municipal Engineer says that due to the weight of the water tanks, the walls developed cracks forcing the building to collapse. Each of the water tanks had capacity of 20,000 litres of water.

A car that had been parked on the road side was damaged and seven shops neighboring the building were also damaged.

Willy Kintu Muhanga; the Mayor Fort Portal Municipality, says that the foundation of the building could have been constructed using wrong portions of concrete and cement, which weakened the strength of the floor and could not hold the weight of the water tanks.

Muhanga says that the incident is an eye opener to the municipality and therefore they will start doing buildings inspection to ensure they meet the required standards.

Julius Asaba; a trader on Magambo Street, whose shop was damaged, says that for past two months, the building was developing cracks. He explains that they informed the municipal authorities, but there was no response.
The street is currently sealed off as police and municipal workers remove the debris.
Source: www.mknewslink.com; a western Uganda news website.
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