Seepage in Nehru Shopping Complex as no provision for draining out wastewater

Absence of proper disposal of rainwater and wastewater in the drains and allowing individual owners to install water tanks are wreaking havoc on the building of Nehru Shopping Complex. Widespread dampness is visible in all portions of the structure while green vegetation has sprouted in its different parts.

Vikas Narang, president of Nehru Shopping Complex Welfare Association, said there was no efficient provision for draining out rainwater from the rooftop and ground floor which is two to three feet below the road level. Consequently, water seeps underneath the building. He said there is a narrow service lane, right from SCO number 1 to 30 and their toilets are raised over it. Water tanks are also installed over this stretch on the rooftop. Overflowing water from plastic receptacles and rainwater keep flowing down from the area. As a result, backside balconies on all the floors and raised concrete wall on the rooftop have become structurally weak. They could collapse anytime, he cautioned.

There are about 400 SCOs in the complex and about half of them are operational. The structure has developed cracks and fissures which are visible at several places, allowing water to seep deep inside it.

Mumties on the rooftop are without doors and windows allowing any person access to the rooftop. Balconies at the back of the shops developed cracks. Leakage in water and drainpipes besides rainwater resulted in condensation dampness over several walls in the complex. Fibre sheets placed over a framework on a rooftop stretch of the Nehru Shopping Complex has been damaged but no attempt has been made to repair it. Ashok Talwar, Chairman, Improvement Trust, said a whitewash of the building was on.