Madurai
Madurai Corporation is currently identifying weak and dilapidated buildings in the core city and issuing notices to the building owners.
An official from the Town planning wing of the Corporation said that currently a total of 225 dilapidated buildings have been identified in Zones 3 and 4, and notices have been issued to their owners. The operation is being carried out along with the Fire and Rescue Services department, he said.
"More focus is being given to the buildings around Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple, Vilakkuthoon, four Masi streets and the core city. Identification of such weak buildings are under way in the remaining zones also," he said.
While the civic body usually inspects weak buildings in the city during rainy seasons, it was the first time that notices were issued to the building owners. "More emphasis is given on identifying such weak buildings after the incident on Deepavali festival, where two firemen were killed when the roof of a textile shop collapsed on them while they were battling a fire," he added.
The notices issued by the Corporation mentions that the building is unsafe and is in a dilapidated condition. Hence, the owners have to demolish the buildings within 14 days, according to the notice.
The civic body had also sealed five shops last week for not complying with the rules after notices were issued to them. The traders criticised this move of the civic body.
Tamil Nadu Textile Merchants Association Secretary Ashraf Tayub urged the civic body to conduct proper assessment before issuing
notices to building owners. "The officials have issued notices based on the appearance of the buildings. It will only be correct to assess buildings and then issue notices," he said.
The traders also urged the civic body to stop sealing the buildings where notices were issued.
The Corporation official said that the notices were issued as a warning urging the building owners to take steps to improve the safety of the buildings.
