Best Lawyers in Chandigarh Floods take toll on houses, villagers staying outdoors

Mundi Shehrian/Mandala Channa, August 31 

As many as 3,000 houses and other buildings have been damaged in the district due to floods in the past fortnight.

With about 10 villages (seven of them still inundated) severely affected by the floods, officials said it would take at least a month to assess the total damage. 

More than 50 buildings —many of them kutcha houses or huts — have been damaged in Dhakka Basti in Gatta Mundi Kasu village, which is one of the completely washed out and cut-off areas. 

As per the administration, 50 villages (30 severely affected) in the district are inundated — all have an average of 200 to 250 houses, many of which have developed cracks. 

As per the norms, Rs 95,100 shall be paid to fully damaged pucca/kutcha houses, for partial (15%) damage Rs 5,200 for pucca and Rs 3,200 for kutcha houses; and Rs 4,100 shall be paid for damaged huts and Rs 2,100 for cattle sheds. 

Most residents of Mundi Chohlian, Mundi Shehrian, Mundi Kasu, Gatta Mundi Kasu, Chak Wadala and Mandala Channa villages — where the houses are still flooded with stinking water — are scared to go inside their cracked houses and are spending days along the Sutlej bundh. Villagers say most of the houses have developed cracks while several have collapsed. 

Sarwan Singh of Mundi Shehrian village said, “Our 50-year-old house is full of sludge and though it’s standing, we don’t know when it might collapse. The wooden planks on the roof are caving in. The stinking water makes it worse. We don’t know whether we’ll be able to stay here even after water recedes.”  

DC Varinder Kumar Sharma said, “Around 3,000 houses and other buildings have been damaged. A detailed report on collapsed houses, those needing repairs and other damages can only be made after a month, when water in all villages will recede. At present, some of the areas are still inaccessible.” — TNS

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