Nearby,another tragedy waiting to happen

There is no water and no electricity. The building looks to be in serious need of repairs.

Amritpal Singh Sachdeva,the man who owned the building that collapsed,is behind bars. He owns other properties in the area and was declared a ‘bad character’ by the Shakarpur police station due to the 24 criminal cases lodged against him in Delhi and NCR area — he has also been involved in land-grabbing cases.

His brother Satnam Singh aka Happy shares his criminal past. The family owns around four buildings in the locality. H-11 is owned by Satnam Singh,but the rent goes to their mother,called “chai”.

A few notices are slapped on the front of the building.

The first one is dated April 13,2011 and asks the owner to furnish details of the building,including its structural stability,construction material used,detailed drawings and soil investigation within a week. The inspection was done of April 8. The second letter,dated April 27 and addressed to the owner of H-11,states “…you failed to comply with the directions as mentioned above. H-11 would be declared dangerous in order to save the life of the persons residing in the building.”

The third notice,dated April 29,says “…in any danger,you would be solely responsible for that.”

But the owner has not complied.

The tenants too have continued to live here. After the Lalita Park mishap,a few tenants moved out. But new ones came in,like Abdul Mannan who occupies the basement with his wife and children. He runs a tea kiosk in front of his door and pays Rs 2,000.

“The landlord said we can live for a month and then find alternate accommodation. That was a week ago. I came here around two months ago. We sleep at a neighbour’s house in the night because we fear this too will collapse and we will be buried. We don’t know what the notice says but Chai said she would repair it,” he says.

A storeowner across the building said for the last 10 years,the building has been in a critical state,no one has repaired it.

Gurdeep Kaur aka ‘Chai’ lives with a domestic help in a similar building in a lane behind H-11. Her own building is crumbling. “My son says he will repair the other building,” she says. “There is a lot of work that needs to be done. The rent that I collect is my only earning.”

“I have three sons. One is in jail. The other two will do something,” she says.

“We are in the process of vacating it. We will give the details soon to the agency and will repair the building,” Satnam Singh says.

Meanwhile,the poor tenants continue to live in the building. There’s no option. For Rs 2,000,they have a roof in the city.

“If its falls,it is our bad luck,” Mannan says. “This is the only space we can afford. Poverty is a sad thing. It takes away the right to choose,the right to safety,everything.”