Old, dilapidated buildings pose threat to life in Jalandhar
Avneet Kaur
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, August 1
As the monsoon season heightens the risk of building collapse, the Jalandhar district administration, Municipal Corporation (MC) and Improvement Trust remain indifferent to the peril posed by unsafe structures.
Despite the evident threat to life and property, the departments concerned lack comprehensive data or list of hazardous buildings, particularly in the city’s old localities.
According to sources in the MC and district administration, no surveys of unsafe structures have been conducted in the past 15 years. The last effort was made in 2009 by the MC’s Town Planning Department which identified 12 unsafe buildings. However, there has been no follow-up. Officials are unaware if these buildings have either been repaired, demolished or further deteriorated.
The 2009 survey listed buildings in areas such as Ram Gali, Charanjitpura, Charat Singh Bazaar, Mai Heeran Gate and Chowk Malka. However, many more dangerous structures exist in other parts of the city, including Old Sarai (built in 1902) on Railway Station Road, houses and shops at Qila Mohalla, worn-out flats at PNT Colony, flats at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony and a few structures at Adda Hoshiarpur Chowk. These structures are neither part of any list, nor in the knowledge of officials.
Even public buildings such as the Civil Surgeon’s office and Division Number 2 police station, declared unsafe by the (PWD long ago, remain in use without any repair.
Officials from the Central Zone’s B & R Department claim to have issued notices to a few building owners in Rainak Bazaar. However, they lack comprehensive data on the number of unsafe buildings in the city, insisting that the responsibility for the repair lies with the owners. They argue that it is not their duty to survey or list these buildings.
Discussions with engineers from the Civil Engineering Wing and town planners reveal the absence of mechanism or regulations to identify the unsafe buildings. The officials say that they only issue notices based on complaints from nearby residents or shop owners. However, if unsafe buildings are vacant and there is no information about the owners, no action is taken and the MC officials keep locating the owner.
Residents of old city areas such as Mai Heeran Gate, Qila Mohalla and Sheikhan Bazaar, where many unsafe buildings are located, express resentment. “Working in shops, we are at risk. We’ve repeatedly appealed to civic body officials for help but have received no response,” they said.
Meanwhile, corporation engineers Rajneesh Dogra and Rahul Dhawan and XEN Jaspal and Sukhwinder and junior engineers evaded responsibility. Only Junior Engineer Navjot Singh from Lal Rattan Zone confirmed having issued two notices to owners of dilapidated buildings in Rainak Bazaar.
Navjot Singh noted that further action depended on the higher authorities. He also said he had received complaints a few months back on the basis of which five or six buildings being marked unsafe in his zone.
Municipal Commissioner Gautam Jain said he would check with the department.
No survey of unsafe structures since 2009
- No survey of unsafe structures has been conducted for the past 15 years
- The survey last time was conducted in 2009 by the MC’s Town Planning Department which identified 12 unsafe buildings
- However, there has been no follow-up since then
- Officials are unaware if these buildings have either been repaired, demolished or further deteriorated.
Areas with most structures
Such buildings are in areas such as Ram Gali, Charanjitpura, Charat Singh Bazaar, Mai Heeran Gate and Chowk Malka. However, many more dangerous structures exist in other parts of the city, including Old Sarai (built in 1902) on Railway Station Road, houses and shops at Qila Mohalla, worn-out flats at PNT Colony, flats at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony and a few structures at Adda Hoshiarpur Chowk. These structures are neither part of any list, nor in the knowledge of officials.
