134 buildings declared dangerous by Ulhasnagar Municipal Corpn.

ULHASNAGAR: The Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) has listed 134 buildings in its vicinity as dangerous this year following a survey in the city.

UMC has initiated the process of sending notices to these buildings as a part of the precautionary measures before monsoon. UMC has also introduced a tollfree number – 18002331101 – to address the residents’ concerns on dangerous buildings.

In May 2021, 13 people died in separate incidents of slab collapses in Ulhasnagar. Following this, the civic body targeted residential buildings that were built of sub-standard sand during 1994-98. Around 1,500 buildings in Ulhasnagar built during 1994-98 using low quality sand were served notices to carry out the structural audit. In a fresh survey this year, 134 buildings are now declared dangerous.

“Our concerned department has served notices to such buildings and also have uploaded the list of dangerous buildings online,” said Raja Dayanidhi, UMC commissioner.

“Residents can look out for any changes in the column, beam of the building, tilting of any parts of the building, plaster fall, changes in slab, any gap or cracks in the concrete, any cracking sound from the walls. In case of any such noticeable indications, the residents should immediately call up the helpline number and inform the civic body and also vacate the building on a priority basis,” said Prajakta Kulkarni, PRO, UMC.

Kajal Mulchandani, a social activist from Ulhasnagar, said, “Although the civic body has done the audit of 116 buildings, the remaining thousands of structures are still risky. There is a need to keep a track of these buildings too.”