The city has seen nearly a four-fold rise in ‘unsafe’ buildings in the past two years — from 26 in 2018 to 102 this year, as per the latest survey conducted by the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation s(GMC). However, residents are yet to vacate many of these buildings. An estimated 500 people are currently staying at these unsafe places, officials said.
The Ghaziabad municipality is, in fact, divided into five zones — City, Kavi Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Mohan Nagar and Vasundhara. The city zone has the maximum number of unsafe buildings at 38, followed by Mohan Nagar at 31, the survey has revealed.
One such unsafe building is Alaknanda Tower in Vaishali, which was constructed in 1989 by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA). “We are living in a state of constant fear. The basement is flooded with water due to monsoon showers and plasters are peeling off almost daily,” said Amit Kumar, a resident.
Close to Alaknanda Tower is Kaveri Tower, the condition of which is also dangerous. “The plasters of this multi-storied building are peeling off, its basement remains waterlogged throughout the year and the foundation has become weak. Immediate intervention is needed as several lives are at stake,” said Kamlesh Sharma, a resident.