40 more risky buildings on Rath Yatra route in Ahmedabad

Many houses particularly in the eastern part of the city are on shaky foundation literally.

The incident of Friday, in which two people lost their lives following a house collapse in Dariapur, is just tip of the iceberg.

The negligence on the part of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) coupled with the tussle between owners and tenants have ensured that no repairs are carried out on dilapidated houses.

House collapse is a worrying possibility particularly during the monsoon. Moreover the Rath Yatra passes through the walled city and alleys that are home to many of the dilapidated buildings.

This means a catastrophe is waiting to happen if any of these dilapidated buildings collapse during the yatra.

It should be noted that there are around 40 dilapidated buildings on the Rath Yatra route. 

AMC officials said that as per their survey around 200 houses in the walled city are in danger of collapsing.

"We have identified around 40 new houses that are on the verge of collapse in the walled city along the Rath Yatra route. These houses are in addition to the 169 dilapidated houses in the Walled City," said deputy municipal commissioner for central zone, IK Patel.

If on an average each of these houses have four residents in them, it means the life of around 800 people are at risk this monsoon.

But the AMC it seems is not keen on asking the residents to move out or pulling down parts of the houses.

"If there is an issue between the owner and the tenant about the cost of repairs we cannot do anything," said Patel.