Thane: Evacuate dangerous buildings with immediate effect, says TMC chief

Thane: The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) chief Abhijit Bangar during the pre-monsoon review meeting on Friday instructed the officials to immediately evacuate the people from the buildings declared as extremely dangerous in Thane city.

During the review meeting a discussion was held on the evacuation of high-rise buildings and their difficulties, alternative arrangements and transit camps etc. Bangar ordered the officials that the water and electricity supply should be cut off immediately to buildings of both extremely dangerous (C1 class) and dangerous (C2a class) types. He also said that the instructions by the urban development department regarding pre-monsoon action for old or dilapidated buildings should be strictly followed.

Evacuation of buildings with immediate effect

"In Thane city, there are a total of 86 extremely dangerous buildings while 37 of them have been evacuated. In 49 buildings residents are still living which should be vacated immediately. The residents should immediately shift to alternative places. If there is no alternative arrangement for the residents of extremely dangerous official buildings, and if there is a need from the point of view of their safety, the municipal corporation is trying to provide a temporary alternative arrangement. Families in unauthorized high-risk buildings will be provided with temporary alternative arrangements in schools. But they should search for a new place within that period" said Bangar.The Thane civic body should verify the reports of VJTI or IIT on an expeditious basis for the repair reports of dangerous buildings where there is doubt. The commissioner said that the municipal corporation should bear the cost if necessary.

Temporary alternative accommodation will be provided

The TMC chief informed, "There are 192 buildings in TMC jurisdiction which are dangerous but will be habitable after constructive repairs. Those buildings have to be vacated and repaired. Families in these buildings will be provided with temporary alternative accommodation in transit camps in nearby schools for the duration of these repairs. The concerned should repair this building immediately. Apart from extremely dangerous and hazardous buildings, the city has the following types of building repairs without evacuation (2374) and minor repairs (1647) in old buildings. They have also been instructed to make immediate repairs."Bangar added, "If alternative arrangements for some families in the official buildings are necessary, efforts should be made to provide an alternative that is acceptable to the locals as far as possible. So those families will be least inconvenienced. Citizens will certainly support it. It is sad for anyone to leave home. To understand their feelings and help them to migrate. In any case, our first duty is to avoid loss of life due to accidents."

Hazardous signs will be put on display

On the facades of extremely dangerous and dangerous buildings, signs indicating that the building is extremely dangerous should be displayed. On other hazardous buildings, information on what symptoms are observed before the building collapses should be prominently displayed so that the citizens will be aware said the TMC commissioner.