CUTTACK: A sanitary worker of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) died after a boundary wall of a government residential quarter at Deula Sahi in ward No. 9 here caved in on July 22.The worker was cleaning the drain when the boundary wall of residential quarter of a Sale Tax officer, reportedly in a dilapidated condition due to lack of repair and maintenance by Roads and Building department collapsed on him.
In another incident, 70-year-old Susant Kumar Mandal and his two other family members narrowly escaped after his old double-storey building at Odia Bazar here collapsed on July 25. A day later, two electricians who were mounting an air-conditioner on the wall of a house at Malgodown, were injured critically after the old wall caved in.
This brings a huge crisis to the fore in the 1,000-year-old city, which has many unsafe structures and can crumble at any point of time, but the CMC is yet to wake up to the threat. There are many old buildings, structures and government colonies in the city, which have become structurally weak and need immediate demolition.
In 2010, when 60 people died in a building collapse in Delhi, the CMC had announced to initiate survey work of decrepit structures in the city, but it remained confined to the announcement only. After much hue and cry, the CMC in 2019 had again announced to conduct the survey by constituting a special team.
However, even after three years, it is yet to collect any data.As per the guidelines of the Municipal Corporation Act, it is the duty of the civic body to identify unsafe structures and immediately order for their demolition as they pose threat to public life.According to an estimate, there are over 700 perilous structures including private buildings, houses and government colonies in the city, which has now become a matter of concern.
“There are several unsafe structures in different localities like Nimchouri, Nayasarak, Bamphisahi, Chandni Chowk, Buxi Bazar and Badambadi CESU colony among others. If any mishap occurs then the administration will face a lot of difficulty carrying out rescue operations due to the narrow lanes,” opined some of the city based intellectuals.
CMC Commissioner Nikhil Pavan Kalyan said the matter would be reviewed and necessary steps would be taken soon for conducting a detailed survey to identify the unsafe structures in the city.