Inhabitants of dilapidated houses refuse evacuation

[Salman]

Inhabitants of dilapidated houses refuse evacuation

RAWALPINDI - Despite eviction notices to dilapidated houses from Rawal Town Municipal Administration (RTMA), dwellers have refused to evacuate, saying that they were with no other option but to live or die the houses.

Moreover, even a single house could not be vacated during campaign against the dilapidated buildings, which started from last week.

Talking to this agency, the citizens residing in these dilapidated buildings said that they know that they are sitting on a powder houses. “We were helpless, as we have no choice but to live here,” they added.

Atta-ur-Rehman, a resident of Mochi Bazaar, said that his family and some other people had been living in old buildings since the Partition and they had no other place to shift.

A Rawal Town Municipal Administration official said that notices were served to the residents of these dangerous buildings to vacate or renovate them before monsoon season otherwise they would be responsible if any untoward situation come across. Officials said that the residents of these buildings were not willing to vacate their houses due to various reasons and at the same time it was not possible for the civic body to renovate houses for them.

The residents of low-lying areas along Nullah Leh were asked to shift to their relatives’ houses and in rented houses to avoid flood damages.

They alleged that the civic body made flood announcement, which spread panic among the people living along Nullah Leh but has failed to ensure safety measures.

It should be mentioned here that almost 300 dilapidated buildings were served notices in the city, which are vulnerable to mishap during the ongoing monsoon season.