Residents of over 20 houses in the neighbourhood of the multi-storey building which has been declared unsafe are seething with anger with neither the builder nor the Puducherry Planning Authority (PPA) coming forward to demolish the structure even after 48 hours.
The Puducherry Government had directed the builder to demolish the structure on Wednesday after cracks on one of the supporting pillars had triggered panic among the residents. However, lack of immediate action on the part of the builder and the PPA has caused restlessness among the residents, particularly women, who have been left to fend for themselves.
“The authorities asked us to occupy our houses at 8 p.m. on Thursday. But at around 11.30 p.m. a team of police officials asked us to vacate since the building was unsafe. Where can we go in the middle of the night leaving all valuables behind? The government doesn’t seem to be seriously taking up the issue and lack of technical manpower and delay in demolishing the structure has only worsened our plight,” said Irisson, a resident.
On Friday, skilled workers from Haryana arrived to strengthen the basement of the structure before starting demolition. As the work was underway horizontal and vertical cracks were found on the walls and beams of most of the adjacent houses in the neighbourhood .
Pushpa Gandhi, a resident whose house had developed numerous tiny cracks said, “We want the authorities to act swiftly. Who will pay the compensation for damages other buildings have come to suffer now she asked?”
A senior official of the PWD said: “Our concern now is to demolish the structure at the earliest. We have asked the builder to strengthen the structure at the basement with the help of jacks and demolish the structure from the top floor in a phased manner without causing any damage to neighbouring houses.”
Officials were unable to offer clarity on whether the residents would be compensated in the event of their homes being pulled down.
