CUTTACK: An unbelievable 196 residential buildings, belonging to the Government, in Cuttack are unsafe but continue to be occupied. A structural safety assessment of Government buildings, both institutional and residential, initiated by the district administration in the wake of recent earthquake has proclaimed them to be in an extremely dilapidated condition posing serious threat to the inhabitants.
Of them, 129 are police quarters, 22 belong to the Health and Family Welfare Department in the form of doctors and other staff quarters, 11 to the School and Mass Education Department including the quarters of the Headmaster of Ravenshaw Collegiate School, 16 to the Higher Education Department primarily quarters in Ravenshaw University, 10 of the Animal Husbandry Department, five of the Agriculture Department, two quarters of Revenue and one of the Works Department. While only two are undergoing renovation, the rest are still to be attended to.
Eight Government buildings in the city are set to be pulled down even as 29 others have been declared unsafe requiring urgent repair and renovation. Those include old Ravenshaw Girls High School building and its hostel, Marwari High School at Balubazaar, Malkhana of old Civil Court at Chandni Chowk, a portion of the old RDC office building, old toilet block and drug warehouse of City Hospital and storage godown of R&B division at Jagatpur. All the buildings, however, are lying unused. The R&B Division has initiated the process for the demolition, Collector Girish SN said.
Even as the administration decided to push authorities concerned to pay immediate attention to the unsafe buildings, both residential and institutional, it has now ventured to extend the exercise to private structures. All old and dilapidated buildings along with highrises would be surveyed by a special team of experts comprising engineers and technical personnel of the CMC, CDA and Works Department. Councillors have been asked to report unsafe structures in their respective Wards.
The survey would begin on July 15 and complete by July 31. Fire safety audit of highrises and apartments would be conducted alongside. Based on the findings of the survey, appropriate action would be initiated, Girish said.