MC oblivious to unsafe buildings

Kuldip Bhatia & Shivani Bhakoo

Ludhiana, July 17

Come rainy season and the alarm bells start ringing for residents living around ramshackle and derelict buildings which can crumble any moment and cause massive damage to human lives and property.

The Municipal Corporation, for that matter, also wakes up and sounds alert asking officials and staff of its building branch to identify such ‘unsafe’ buildings and take appropriate action as provided in the Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, but the facade of preparedness soon disappears as the threat from rain is gone with the change of season.

Where unsafe buildings — posing threat to occupants and the neighbourhood — are concerned, old city localities with narrow lanes having decades-old dilapidated buildings score over the rest of the city, where a majority of buildings are comparatively in a better condition.

These rundown buildings have been taking a toll by causing injuries and even death, in some instances, of occupants. Some three years ago, an old building had crumbled in Mohalla Thapran, in which one person was killed. Thereafter, old buildings, either deserted or occupied, had collapsed at the Old Sabzi Mandi Chowk, Nikka Mal Chowk and Deepak Cinema Road even though here was no loss of human life.

According to the information provided by the building branch of the MC, there are 32 old buildings (17 in Zone A, 12 in Zone D and 3 in Zone C) in the city, which have been declared ‘unsafe’ by the MC Commissioner under the powers conferred in Sections 273 and 329 of the MC Act, 1976, and the owners of these buildings have been served notices to ‘demolish, secure or repair’ the buildings.

However, the follow-up action of getting the building demolished at the ‘cost and risk’ of the owner, as provided in the Act, is hardly every taken. Parminder Mehta, a former councillor from Ward No. 35 (old city area), says: “I had repeatedly intimated the Mayor and MC officials about some ramshackle buildings in the locality, which could collapse during rain and cause mishap, but no remedial measure has been taken by the MC authorities so far.”

MC claims

MC Commissioner Kamalpreet Kaur Brar claimed that four teams had been constituted, which will visit all four zones — A, B, C and D — to identify unsafe or very old buildings, so that preventive measures could be taken well in time. The Commissioner has sought the report by tomorrow evening. However, the MC officials maintain that demolition, or for that matter any follow-up action, on such unsafe buildings is easier said than done. “Once a building is termed as unsafe and notice issued to the owners/ occupants, either the owner or the tenant seeks legal recourse and more often than not, obtains a stay order, which binds our hands. In some other cases, political pressure is brought upon to avert demolition,” said an MC official requesting anonymity. Till such time that the MC rises to the occasion to perform its assigned task diligently, city residents have been left to fend for themselves from the danger posed by unsafe buildings. “We have been left at the mercy of God, or rather rain god,” as a resident in the vicinity of a derelict building remarked.

Conflicting view….

A building on National Road, where it converges with Ferozepur Road (at Bhai Bala Chowk) has been declared unsafe by the MC. But the occupants (all tenants) having shops on the ground floor maintain that it is totally safe. Hardeep Kumar, who runs a confectionary shop, said he was here since 1954. Some tenants are here since 1950 and the building is much older than that. He claimed that it was very strong and has walls with 24 inches in thickness as against 4 to 9 inches these days. Another shopkeeper Deepak Kumar said they had never got the shops renovated and there was no leakage during rain.  “For all we (the occupants) know the building is safe and it is not going to collapse,” the shopkeepers said. The building has a confectionary shop, tea-stall, dhaba and a helmet shop. 

...Meanwhile in Mandi Ahmedgarh, cops  fear for their lives 

Mandi Ahmedgarh: While people look up to the police to protect their lives and property, it’s cops posted at local city police station, who are seeking protection in Mandi Ahmedgarh. The condition of the building housing various wings of the Police Department here is pathetic for the past over two decades and the administration has failed to get it repaired or reconstructed.  In fact, different portions of the building were declared unsafe from time to time. The plaster on the walls and bricks keep falling, risking lives of not only the cops working here, but complainants and inmates as well. Sources reveal that the building was constructed over a century ago, while the police station was established in 1918 and has not been repaired for over past 40 years. Social activists and office-bearers of political parties, who had been accompanying visitors, said the rooms and verandah started deteriorating over three decades ago. Surprisingly, senior functionaries up to the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police have been visiting the police station, but the needful has not been done. The rooms that were declared unsafe long time ago are being used as stores, where a majority of officials have to go in routine. The roofs and walls of the rooms being used as official residence of the Station House Officer and investigating officers also cannot be termed safe and comfortable, particularly during the rainy season. Sources at the police station claim that the process for the reconstruction of the building was started long ago and a government agency was assigned the job to construct the building according to the prescribed draft plan. Acknowledging the gravity of the situation, SHO Amandeep Kaur claimed that the draft plan for the proposed building had already been submitted with the officials concerned, who had assured that the work on the project would start without further delay.— Mahesh Sharma