School building in Solan declared unsafe

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, September 20

A committee headed by the Solan SDM has declared the building of Sarvhitkari Shiksha Niketan (SSN) on the Kumarhatti bypass unsafe. On August 30, one of its blocks had partially collapsed, with the staff and students having a miraculous escape.

While one block of the five-storey school building had partially collapsed, the remaining blocks having hostels and administrative offices can crumble anytime.

The exact cause of the collapse is yet to be ascertained. Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kanwar had constituted the committee on August 30. An Executive Engineer from the Public Works Department was on the panel, which was supposed to submit its report in 10 days, while another detailed report was to be submitted in a month.

Kanwar said the committee had recommended that the remaining blocks should be examined by a structural engineer from ITI-Roorkee as the impact of the collapse could have rendered the remaining portion unsafe. Since the officials did not have the expertise to dwell upon the cause of the collapse, they had recommended its certification from an expert structural engineer. Large crevices had appeared in the damaged building after one of its wall had collapsed and the sudden sinking of the portion could impact the remaining building too.

The DC added they would write to the school management to get the building certified from a structural expert before using the building again at their own cost.

The school is being run from another building near Sultanpur.

With the building having been constructed at a time when the Town and Country Planning Act is not in force in the area, no building maps have been cleared by the school management and no subsequent permission to raise additional structures has been obtained.

While a structural expert will ascertain the actual cause of the mishap, a visit to the site has revealed that the foundation of the building lacks strength.