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Councillor seeks razing of unsafe industrial building in Ludhiana
Lying in a dilapidated condition since a massive fire broke out in May last year, the multi-storey building of RT Woollen Mills in Industrial Area- A is posing grave danger to the lives of residents and workers in the neighbouring buildings
Lying in a dilapidated condition since a massive fire broke out in May last year, the multi-storey building of RT Woollen Mills in Industrial Area- A is posing grave danger to the lives of residents and workers in the neighbouring buildings.
Fearing that the building might collapse during the rainy season after its boundary wall shifted by around two feet from its original place, the municipal corporation (MC) sealed it on Thursday.
The move came a day after Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) councillor Swarandeep Chahal submitted a complaint with mayor Balkar Sandhu.
Chahal, who owns the adjoining building, demanded that the MC should get the building razed to avoid any untoward incident, as apart from the labourers working in the nearby factories/commercial establishments, over 200 of them live in the quarters situated in the area around the damaged building.
Chahal said,” I came to know about the condition of the building after its boundary wall (rear side) shifted from its original place and led to the collapse of our plot’s boundary wall on July 29. The building situated on around 2,000 square yards is unsafe. Even though the pillars on its rear side are broken and the concrete slab of the first floor is supported by wooden piles, its owner was trying to resume operations there claiming that the building is safe.”
“If it collapses, it might result in a large number of casualties. The owner is putting the lives of residents at stake. Even the MC officials were not paying heed to the problem until I went to the mayor on Wednesday. I have been complaining about the building since July 29. Even now, the MC has just sealed the building instead of forcing the owner to demolish it,” said Chahal.
Kulwant Singh, the owner of Manjit Timber situated behind the damaged building, said, “The boundary wall of the fire-ravaged building is also expanding towards our side due to which the plaster of our boundary wall also got damaged.”
“I will submit a complaint regarding the same with the mayor,” said Singh.
Meanwhile, the MC officials stated that a few employees were present inside the unsafe building, which has now been vacated and sealed.
MC assistant town planner (ATP) Mohan Singh said that the MC had earlier declared the building unsafe, and a report has now been sent to higher authorities for further action.
Mayor Balkar Sandhu said,” It is now the responsibility of the owner to raze the building or else he can submit a fee with MC for demolishing the same. The MC is looking into the legal aspects and the owner will be responsible for any accident that takes place.”
A fire broke out at the woollen unit on May 24 last year. The fire-fighting operation continued for over 12 hours. In total, 14 fire tenders were deployed at the spot, which was refilled over 100 times to douse the flames. No casualty was reported.
