Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
‘505 buildings built with poor sand’
ULHASNAGAR: More than 505 structures built between 1994 and 1998 using inferior quality sand were identified in a survey undertaken by a panel formed by the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC).
“In the last two (slab collapse) incidents, it was learnt that both the buildings were made of inferior quality sand namely Ulwe sand during 1994 to 1998. In the 1990s, the then commissioner had razed the slabs of these buildings, however the developers and residents constructed them all over again,” said Yuvraj Badhane, UMC PRO.
A ward-level panel that conducted the survey from May 29 to June 4 found 505 such structures that needed structural audit.
“The survey is still under progress and the number of such structures will increase in the coming days. The residents in the 505 structures have been directed to carry out the audit. We have already asked the residents to be alert and come forward with details if they are living in such structures,” said Badhane.
The public works department of UMC will also visit these structures and take needful action, claimed the civic body.
The UMC claimed that it has already started evacuating residents living in unsafe buildings and shifting them to temporary shelters like community temples and halls.
“I visited 10 structures in Ulhasnagar and what I learnt was that residents were expecting someone else to do an audit for them. They were not aware of the procedure and also there was panic of losing their shelter. I managed to give some of the residents an idea as one engineer accompanied me,” said Kajal Mulchandani, social activist and a Ulhasnagar resident.