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Where does this family of nine go?
Two-storey house develops cracks due to illegal digging next door; authorities shy away from commenting
Nine members of a family, including a 15-month-old child, have been rendered homeless overnight after their house in Vineet Khand-I developed cracks and some part of it collapsed late on February 4.
The two-storeyed house, spread over 2,000 square feet, allegedly developed the cracks after digging for the basement was on at an adjacent construction site.
Multiple cracks formed both inside and outside the building after the building gradually began to lean forward. Now, the person getting the digging done next door, has put up scaffolding inside the house to support the structure but the family says that still the cracks are deepening every day.
“Cracks began to appear on February 2, but they quickly became deep, and on Monday (February 6), the boundary wall of the house, adjacent to the site collapsed,” said Durga Pratap Singh, owner of the house.
“This is a result of the illegal digging of the basement next door, some 20-25 feet deeper, without sparing three-feet distance from our house,” he said.
He rued that the authorities have turned a blind eye despite the Alaya Apartments incident.
According to LDA bylaws, during the digging of the basement, it is mandatory to leave space up to 2 metres from the adjacent building. However, no such space has been left.
Spending night in goods truck, board exams, wedding close: Family
Singh lives with his wife Yasoda Devi, his 15-month-old son, Parth, his mother, Nirmala Devi, brother, Pawan Singh, sister, Sujata Singh and his cousin, Pankaj Singh and his nephew and niece, Rajveer and Prachi Singh.
With the fear that the building might collapse any time, the entire family is forced to live in the carriage of their goods vehicle. Prachi Singh, who is to take her Class 12 Board exams soon, studies on the same vehicle.
“My sister’s wedding is due next month. It was supposed to take place here but now we don’t know what is going to happen,” said Durga Pratap Singh.
FIR Lodged against the property owner
The family has also lodged an FIR at the Gomti Nagar police station on Monday, against the owner of plot 1/209, one Dr Sanu Rastogi (where the basement digging was on) alleging that the digging was illegal.
“An FIR has been lodged against Sanu Rastogi on Cr.P.C 427, 4 and 21. The matter is being investigated,” said Dinesh Chandra Mishra, SHO, Gomti Nagar.
LDA team visit
A three-member Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) team visited the site on Wednesday. According to family members, the team did not inspect the site properly and recorded that there were no cracks in the building in their report.
When Pawan Gangawar, secretary, LDA, was approached for comment, he refused it. Similarly, Arun Kumar Singh, executive engineer of the area, was unreachable, while Awadesh Kumar, assistant executive engineer, did not respond to multiple calls.
