Surat, May 28 (IANS) As unseasonal rains lash Surat and the monsoon season inches closer, the municipal administration has begun scrambling to address a longstanding urban hazard — dilapidated buildings.

With just weeks to go before the rains intensify, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has launched a renewed crackdown on structurally unsafe properties, particularly in the vulnerable Limbayat zone.

Every year, the SMC surveys the city’s aging infrastructure in anticipation of the monsoon. Notices are issued to property owners, instructing them to either carry out repairs or demolish hazardous structures.

This year is no exception — but with the premature rains already making an appearance, the urgency has increased.

According to SMC data, 1,563 properties across the city remain pending for repair, while 91 have been declared dangerously dilapidated, posing a serious risk to residents and neighbouring structures.

In a recent operation in Kumbhariya village, located in the Limbayat zone, a dangerous residential building was voluntarily demolished after discussions with the owners.

The demolition was part of a targeted effort to reduce potential casualties during the monsoon. In another case, officials removed a precarious balcony from a building in Jalaram Nagar, Dindoli, highlighting the administration’s piecemeal but necessary interventions.

Officials say more such demolitions and safety measures are on the cards as they race against time — and the weather — to minimise urban risk in one of Gujarat’s most flood-prone cities.

Vadodara faces a similar predicament, with 1,012 buildings deemed structurally unsound, particularly in the Char Darwaja area. Residents have expressed fears of collapses, yet municipal action has been limited, leaving many structures standing despite the risks.

In Ahmedabad, the situation is compounded by the deterioration of government-constructed housing for Economically Weaker Sections.

Notably, 1,664 houses in Vatva were demolished after being unoccupied for over a decade and found to be structurally unsafe.

Nearly half of the 18,928 units constructed under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Scheme have exhibited structural issues over the past 12 years.

Rural areas are not exempt from this crisis and data indicate that 2,433 gram panchayats in Gujarat either lack buildings or have structures in a dilapidated condition.

–IANS

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