A lightning struck an annexe of the Metro cinema building in Esplanade on Sunday afternoon, breaking off portions of the exterior.
The building had a lightning arrester, said an official of the company that owns the property.
The Metro cinema building has two sections. The one in front — which comes first when one enters the building from Chowringee Road — is a three-storey structure. This is a Grade I heritage structure which houses the Metro cinema.
The other section of the building — the annexe — is situated to the rear of the old structure. The lightning struck the terrace of the annexe.
The design element that broke was built to maintain a semblance of the Art Deco design of the old building.
“It is not impossible for a building fitted with a lightning arrester to get hit by lightning. The arrester might have failed. Several aspects need to be looked into — such as the specification of the arrester and whether it was in a working condition. An inspection of the site will give these answers,” said Himadri Guha, a structural engineer and former professor in Jadavpur University’s civil engineering department.
The annexe has a two-screen multiplex, while the two buildings together house a mall.
A loud sound alerted people in the mall, who ran to the terrace and saw that a portion of a structure had broken off.
Prasenjit Mandal, who works in the building, said he was sitting outside when he heard a terrible sound.
A team, including engineers from the headquarters of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, barely 300m from Metro, inspected the building.
The team included members of a demolition squad. “We pulled down loose portions of the structure to ensure that it did not fall and injure anyone. The team also found some cracks on the parapet,” said the official.
Sunday being a holiday, only two junior engineers, who were on duty in the control room of the civic headquarters to attend to emergencies, went to the site.
The official said senior engineers are likely to inspect the building on Monday for a more detailed assessment of the damage.
An official of the company that owns the property said the structure suffered “very minor” damage.
“There was a loud sound. Some employees told me that a lightning struck our building. We went to the terrace and found portions of a structure lying on the terrace. We were lucky it fell on the terrace and not on anyone,” said the official.
Neither the KMC nor the company ordered closure of the property.
“The retail store remained open and shows in the multiplex ran according to schedule. Everything will remain open on Monday, too,” said the official of the company.
Guha said lightning can damage a concrete structure. “A structural engineer should examine the building once to assess the damage,” said Guha, who is also a member of the heritage conservation committee of the KMC.
