Damaged houses in Shamti area of Solan giving residents sleepless nights

Tribune News Service

Ambika Sharma

Solan, August 3

With the district administration yet to take a decision on removing the debris of damaged houses in the Shamti area of Solan, people living in buildings close by fear that a few damaged houses could collapse on their dwellings.

A number of houses were damaged after a 500-m hill eroded and the slush inundated houses lying below it following a heavy downpour earlier last month.

Nirmala Sidhu, who has a multi-storey house in Shamti, rued: “We are living in utter fear as the debris from an adjoining house, which collapsed, has damaged our rear wall. Another four to five houses are on the verge of collapsing, but no one has come to remove the debris of the collapsed houses. We are spending sleepless nights for fear of damage to our house if the overlooked damaged houses give way.”

Debris of collapsed houses not removed

We are living in constant fear as the debris from an adjoining house that collapsed has damaged our rear wall. No one has come to remove the debris of the these houses. We are spending sleepless nights for fear of damage to our house if the damaged houses give way. —Nirmala Sidhu, A resident

Echoing these sentiments, Nirmalas’ son Uday Jung said, “With a great difficulty, I have arranged few labourers to erect a double brick wall to sustain the rear part of our five-storey house. While the main access to our house has been closed due to the fallen debris of a nearby building, I sleep during the day and keep watch at night to ensure that we are not caught unaware if more debris rushes in from the damaged houses.”

Several damaged houses hang precariously over other houses lying below them. A newly constructed multi-storey house atop the affected hill had tilted forward after its base had eroded. Since it is located on the top of the hill, its debris can damage the houses lying right below it.

“A committee — comprising an assistant engineer, a junior engineer from the MC and Public Works Department (PWD) as well as a planning officer from the Town and Country Planning Department — in its report has proposed to seek opinion of a structural engineer to remove the debris so that no further damage is caused to the nearby houses. Since removing the debris without technical expertise could trigger further damage, proper care has to be taken to ensure that no further damage is caused,” Corporation Commissioner Zaffar Iqbal said.

The woes of the residents are aggravated with no water being supplied by the Jal Shakti Vibhag for the past three weeks. “Residents are forced to purchase water every day to meet their domestic needs. I have been spending Rs 500 on it every other day,” said Jung.

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