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| In devastated Rajbagh, Jawaharnagar experts declare buildings unsafe | | | Bashir Assad
Srinagar, Oct4: The magnitude of devastation caused by floods in Rajbagh-Jawaharnagar localities in Srinagar is huge. And with the experts declaring buildings unsafe for human habitation, there seems no end to the woes of the residents.
Even as one month has passed the inhabitants have not been able to clear huge debris.
Every structure-big or small - presents the horrifying picture of destruction and devastation. The stink emanating from heaps of garbage is only adding to the woes of the hapless people.
Rajbagh is also housing maximum number of private schools in tented buildings. Scores of school buses could be seen turned upside down. Muck inside houses is in tons and the household completely destroyed. Washing machines, refrigerators, ovens, kitchen ware, utensils, furniture, carpets and other household goods worth crores are seen lying on roadside completely destroyed.
" I had done paneling of rare rose-wood to my house, it is now completely destroyed," said Shigufta Qazi who owns two palatial houses in Rajbagh. She said she had invested all earnings of her life in constructing the houses that are now totally destroyed.
A senior structural engineer told Early Times that the owners need to take advice from retrofitting consultancies because majority of the houses in Rajbagh are not safe for human habitation. "Retrofitting is very important, the houses should be certified by the consultants, and only then the families should shift back to their houses. He said in any case it will take six months to the displaced families to shift back to their houses.
When contacted CEO Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA), Tehsin Mustafa said that residential houses and other structures which remained submerged for more that 15 days essentially require retrofitting.
He said the damage could be invisible owing to the fact that walls made of bricks might have been weakened by the flood waters. He said damage to the properties in Rajbagh and Jawaher Nagar localties alone runs in hundreds of crores. |
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