At least four families were evacuated from a six-year-old residential building in Gurugram’s Sector 31 on Friday after it developed cracks and tilted amid construction work on an adjoining plot, prompting police to halt the work and issue precautionary evacuation notices to residents of three neighbouring buildings.
Police said residents had raised the alarm about the building at plot number 769 on Thursday, following which police reached the spot between 9.30 pm and 10 pm and verbally asked the residents to evacuate the building.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) (east) Anil Kumar said that on Friday afternoon, notices were issued to residents living in the three buildings adjacent to the affected building, asking them to evacuate as a precautionary measure. The civic authorities were also alerted.
“Barricades have been put up and a police team deployed to prevent people from entering the building. Construction work has also been halted. The building has developed cracks measuring around 1 to 1.5 inches and is unsafe,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents alleged that careless excavation by a JCB operator at the adjoining plot had caused the building to tilt slightly and develop cracks.
“Instead of carrying out the excavation in a phased manner, they started digging haphazardly, which caused vibrations in our building. We noticed minor cracks that morning,” said Parvesh Kumar Atri, a resident of the affected building.
Residents said they had raised the issue with the owner of the building under construction on the adjoining plot. “He told us the cracks were minor and would be filled by them. However, our domestic help also noticed that the pillars appeared to have tilted slightly and that the building seemed to have subsided. We subsequently lodged a complaint at the local police station,” said Parvesh Kumar Atri.
Residents said they had vacated the affected building, carrying essential belongings and bags, and that the incident had left them in a difficult situation. They added that the building was only six years old, making the damage and the need to move out particularly distressing.
“Most of our furniture and household belongings are still inside the house. Our priority was to get out safely. While some residents have checked into hotels, others have arranged to stay with relatives or acquaintances,” he added.
Residents’ welfare association (RWA) president BS Yadav said residents had informed him about the incident. “This building was just six years old. I also have told the immediate neighbours of the affected building to move out. In newspapers on Monday we read Sushantlok incident, we didn’t know a similar incident will be reported next in our sector,” he said.
A neighbour, who said he had received an evacuation notice from the police, told HT that the builder should take immediate steps to prevent the affected building from collapsing.
“We will also be affected if the building collapses. Of the other families living in my building, one is out of station, while another resident is unwell. How can they expect everyone to evacuate at such short notice? Issuing an evacuation notice on paper is easy, but what steps are the authorities taking to prevent the building from collapsing?” he said.
Residents said they had lodged a complaint at the Sector 40 police station on Thursday.
