Residents of more than 500 buildings from Ulhasnagar have been advised to get a structural audit done after two recent building collapses. A committee appointed by the Ulhasnagar municipal commissioner has drawn up a list of 505 buildings constructed between 1994 and 1998 — a time which saw constructions mushroom in Ulhasnagar.
Most of these buildings had been constructed using an inferior quality of sand, the panel’s report has stated. This sand is locally known as ‘ulve’ sand.
The committee has put out a list of such buildings in each of the municipal wards — the maximum number (160) such buildings in ward 4 while there are 133 in ward 2, 118 in ward 3 and 94 in ward 1.
The municipality on Saturday appealed to citizens of these building to get a structural audit done urgently.
Last month, 12 people died after two buildings in Ulhasnagar — Mohini Palace and Sai Shakti — collapse within 15 days of each other. Civic officials said that both these buildings had been constructed between 1994 and 1995 and were not a part of buildings listed as ‘dangerous’.
Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation’s public relation officer, Dr Yuvraj Bhadane, said that many buildings in the city which have collapsed in the past had come up between 1994 and 1995. “They had been constructed using inferior ulve sand.” He said the civic committee has collected details of all such buildings. “If residents fail to get the structural audit of their buildings done on a priority basis, we will have to forcibly evacuate people to pre-empt loss of life.”
The civic body has earmarked schools, colleges and community halls to house people, if the need arises.