Old Poonch buildings on verge of collapse; admn sleeps over issue

D K Sudan

Poonch, February 14

More than 15 brick buildings in Poonch city are at the risk of collapsing even in a minor earthquake. The buildings were declared unsafe in the devastating earthquake of 2005 but even after over nine years, the district administration has failed to reinforce or remove the structures.

The earthquake of 2005 had caused extensive damages in the Poonch city, where seven people lost their lives and thousands of houses collapsed. The district administration had identified several buildings in the city as unsafe and had ordered their removal. However, the administration seems to have forgotten these buildings, leaving students and residents in and around them at the mercy of God.

Government Girls City Middle School, Poonch, and the Syndicate building are at the verge of collapsing and would not be able to bear even a single shock.

“We have been experiencing earthquakes regularly. Our building is in a pitiable condition and can collapse any time as its bricks have been falling regularly,” said Sunita Sharma, Head Mistress, GGCMS, Poonch.

“We have written to the higher authorities several times that we are taking classes from the old building and it can collapse any time but in vain. There are a lot of buildings vulnerable to collapse in the event of an earthquake,” Sunita stated.

Same is the case with the Syndicate building, where nine families were residing while five families have left their rooms already.

“The top floor of the building has collapsed and is hanging only on wooden poles. It can cause a big tragedy, taking several lives and injuring many,” said Manjeet Singh, a resident of the building.

“Whenever there is an earthquake, we don’t go out because the buildings around our house are on the verge of collapse and can cause a bigger loss,” he said.

Many older concrete buildings are vulnerable to coming down because they do not have enough steel reinforcing bars to hold columns in place.

The Poonch Municipal Council officials know that the residents are sitting on a virtual tinderbox but have failed to force the owners to make their properties safer.

Irshad Hussain, Chief Executive Officer, Poonch MC, said “Yes, we had identified several buildings as unsafe in Poonch city after the 2005 earthquake but due to one or the other reason, the plan to remove or reinforce them died down. We have conveyed our issues to the higher authorities and they have to take the final decision regarding the issue”.