After the collapse of a multi-storey building at Sohana village, the illegally constructed high-rise buildings and the role of the officials who let the rampant construction happen have again come under the scanner.
At Sohana alone, at least 10 buildings have about seven to eight storeys each. Locals said that officials of the Municipal Corporation (MC) allowed the construction to happen in the area due to which hundreds of paying guest houses had come up in the area and illegal buildings housing gyms, grocery stores and hotels.
Sarbjit Singh, a local resident, said that due to the proximity of Sohana with Mohali city, their village had seen an uneven growth of high-rise buildings in the past few years. He added that the water pumps operate illegally and paying guest (PG) accommodations are running without registration.
“Who would take action against this illegal business? Many high-rise buildings house PGs,” Sarbjit added.
Former sarpanch of Sohana Parwinder Singh Sohana said that he had raised the issue in the MC house meetings but in vain.
Municipal Commissioner T Benith told The Indian Express that they had already conducted a survey in the city to identify the illegally constructed high-rise buildings and the process to seal these buildings to be carried out with immediate effect.
“We have identified the PGs and the illegally constructed hotels. Soon, we will be sealing all these buildings,” the Commissioner added.
While taking stock of the post-rescue operation activities in the late evening, Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain said that the district administration will ensure justice to the deceased, Drishti and Abhishek, who lost their lives due to gross human negligence.
She said that stringent steps would be taken to ensure no excavation in the district is to be conducted without appropriate precautions. The competent authorities will monitor the situation so that any such tragedy may be averted from occurring in the future. She assured that the magisterial probe would be conducted in a time-bound manner.
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