Unsafe buildings standing high in Amritsar

AMRITSAR: Despite identifying around 84 buildings as “dangerous” and “highly dilapidated”, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC) has not been able to take any action against their owners even as their chances of crumbling down have increased manifold in the rainy season.
These unsafe buildings pose a serious threat to lives of not only inhabitants but also their neighbours, sources said.
Municipal corporation town planner Shakti Sagar Bhatia said they had tagged 119 buildings as dangerous and had demolished 35 of them in the past. Most of these buildings are situated in walled city area in Katra Dullo, Dhab Khatika, Gali Tiwaria Lohgarh, Jangi Shivala, Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi, Ghantagarh, Ram Gali, Katra Aahluwalia, Bazar Mahasingh, Gali Dhrek wali, Gali Lanba Wali and Haveli Zamadara, he said.
Sources said that inhabitants of these buildings have moved court against AMC`s decision and their cases were pending in the court. Admitting the same, Bhatia said that owners as well as tenants of these buildings had obtained stay order from court due to which they were unable to take any action against them.
He said these buildings had been marked unsafe under the provisions of Municipal Corporation Act since they could endanger the lives of people. "The core walled city area is worst affected by this problem," he added.
Expressing concern over the unsafe buildings still standing in residential colonies, a resident of Cheel Mandi -- where AMC has identified an unsafe building -- Sukhwinder Singh, said, "Everybody is scared during rainy season. One never knows when this building will come down and pose threat to others." He said he had complained several times to AMC to demolish the building, but they had not taken any action.
AMC commissioner DPS Kharbanda said that due to legal procedures, their hands were tied and there was very little they could do to. However, he said AMC was well equipped to tackle any exigency arising due to extreme rainy condition that could lead to collapse of these buildings.
Fire officer KK Rana said that incidents of dilapidated buildings falling during rainy season were common but rued that the fire department had no latest equipment.