Old structures torment residents

VMC identified 153 old buildings in the city, of which 55 were in precarious conditions
Old structures torment residents

VIJAYAWADA: Though Vijayawada is on the fast track of development, on par with metro cities, the old and dilapidated buildings in the city, particularly in the Old Town area, continue to be a cause of concern whenever it rains incessantly.

The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) had identified 153 old buildings in the city. Of them 55 buildings were found in precarious conditions and notices were served to the owners asking them to demolish these structures with immediate effect. “Of the 55 buildings, only 18 were demolished in the last two years,” said city planner Sooraj.

Most of the old structures were located in One Town area and were on the verge of collapse. There are many such buildings in Governorpet, Gandhi Nagar and Canal Road areas that need immediate attention. People residing in these localities are a worried lot as dilapidated and old structures in their vicinity could cave in anytime. They are also appealing to Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) to conduct drives and demolish them before any untoward incident occurs.

“The VMC should act tough against owners of old buildings in One Town area. The authorities will react only after any old structure collapses. Last year, they had pulled down a couple of buildings after a building collapsed in Kummaripalem area and there was no action thereafter,” said K Vijay Prakash, a resident of One Town.

Many of these buildings were occupied either by owners or by tenants who were unwilling to vacate them, citing reasons like cheap rents and increasing construction costs. Some of these structures are also caught in legal tangles. The town planning and engineering wings which are responsible for identification, repairs or razing such structures, react only when any major building collapses and get caught up in routine duties once the initial excitement subsides.

In the last decade, there have been sudden collapses of one of these building leading to fatalities and the VMC has been coming under severe criticism for not doing demolitions on time. “Residents, owners or tenants of these buildings are most reluctant to move out. We are going to issue notices once again by this month end asking them to vacate so that the buildings can be pulled down,” said a VMC senior official in Town Planning department.

When Express took up the issue of demolition of old structures to the notice of municipal commissioner G Veerapandian, he said that special drive will be conducted in One Town and Governorpet areas to demolish the old structures in the next few days.

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