200-year-old house collapses inWalled City, killing old caretaker

Jaipur: In a heart-wrenching incident in old Jaipur's Subhash Chowk area Thursday morning, a 200-year-old residential building, ‘Jhilaai House' collapsed, killing a 65-year-old woman and leaving her 35-year-old daughter-in-law critically injured.The single-storey structure collapsed around 7am, claiming the life of Dhanni Mahawar and injuring Sunita Mahawar, police said. Sunita sustained a fractured leg, multiple facial injuries on the right side and severe damage to her eye. She is currently undergoing treatment at SMS Hospital. The Mahawar family are the caretakers of Jhilaai House for the past 40 years. Dhanni is survived by three sons and a daughter. While one son lives in Malviya Nagar and another in Kanota, her third son, Pradeep Mahawar, died five years ago due to kidney failure. Since then, his widow Sunita lived there with her two children — 11-year-old Reena and seven-year-old Prince — along with her mother-in-law. The Mahawars originally hail from Kherla village in Hindaun City.The house is owned by Ashok Shah and Pradeep Shah, who currently reside near SBI Bank at Chaura Rasta. The Mahawars were paid Rs 5,000 monthly as caretakers, with the owners covering electricity and water expenses.Dhanni's granddaughter Reena, who was in tears, said, "I was playing outside with my brother when I sensed the roof might fall. I told my mother to get out but she went inside to save our grandmother. By then, the house collapsed and grandmother died."Tarun Mahawar, Dhanni's grandson, added, "We rushed here as soon as we got the call. What we saw can't be described. Our grandmother's face was completely disfigured and the aunt's leg badly twisted. The post-mortem has been conducted and our aunt has regained some consciousness. The MLA has promised Rs 50,000 from his fund."Local residents said Sunita worked as a cleaner at Little Planetoid International School, where her children also studied. After school hours, she also worked to produce bangles.Eyewitness Renuka Soni recalled, "Around 7am, we heard a blast-like sound and rushed to the spot. The children were playing outside, so they were safe but Sunita and her mother-in-law were buried under the debris. I could hear groans when I called out. I removed some rubble and found Sunita. Underneath her was her mother-in-law." She added, "Just two or three days ago, I warned Sunita about stones falling from the structure but she said she had already told the owner, who kept postponing repairs."Another resident, Rajendra Kumar Soni, said, "This house is more than 200 years old and spread across 72 square yards. When the collapse occurred, the main gate was locked. I called for help, two men jumped over and broke the lock and we could enter." He said local MLA Balamukundacharya of BJP, mayor Kusum Yadav, and Congress city president RR Tiwari had come and promised compensation for the family.This was the second such collapse in Subhash Chowk within the past 12 days. Earlier, on Sept 6, a haveli caved in, killing a 33-year-old man and his five-year-old daughter. Jaipur received excessive rains this monsoon, further weakening old buildings in the Walled City. Municipal authorities pulled down half-a-dozen dilapidated buildings in the old city after the Sept 6 incident but several others still pose a threat to their occupants and neighbours.