As Himachal Pradesh faced widespread destruction this monsoon season with roads, bridges and houses being washed away, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu blamed faulty structural design, indiscriminate construction work and “migrant architects” for the losses faced by his state.
Sukhu hinted at tougher building rules in the future and he also said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should go for more tunnelling instead of widening the roads, and its engineers need to cut the mountains more scientifically, The Indian Express reported.
At least 70 people have died and more than 1,000 homes damaged in landslides and flash floods following heavy downpour in the state.
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“It will take us one year to recover from the loss. Within four years, Himachal will become self-independent. And within the next 10 years, it will become the number one state in the country,” the CM said.
On the widespread destruction, he said, “People construct houses without applying scientific methods. In recently made buildings, the drainage system is very poor. People believe they are draining the water without knowing that water is going nowhere but into the hills, making them fragile. Shimla is more than one-and-a-half-century-old, and its drainage system was excellent. Now there are buildings in the nallas (runlets). The houses which are collapsing these days have not gone through the standards of structural engineering. The migrant architects (masons), whom I call ‘Bihari architects’, come here and construct floor on floor. We do not have local masons.”
He also blamed poor drainage for the damage caused to the roads.
“Our secretariat is a nine-storey building, the building of Advanced Study in Himachal University, Summer Hill, is an eight-storey building. There was no technology when these buildings were constructed but structuring was there. We have never heard of these buildings being in danger, ever,” the chief minister said, IE reported.
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Commenting on the four-laning by the NHAI, he said, “Tunnels are the only viable and feasible way to tackle the vehicle pressure on this stretch. Britishers made over a hundred tunnels to establish rail links between Kalka and Shimla. Tunnels have been standing since then. Making tunnels is a very costly affair but NHAI should not bother about the costs.”
The CM said the state had lost around 300 lives since July and suffered losses worth Rs 10,000 crore. He also called for change in central government norms for helping states that face natural calamities. The hill states and those in the Northeast should get more, he said. The Centre gives Rs 1.5 lakh for repairing one kilometre of damaged road, he said, adding: “That’s nothing.”