Sohana village, which was a small village on the outskirts of Mohali city till 2008-2009, is now a bustling hub of gym lovers, renters and shopkeepers. However, the A three-storey building collapsed on Saturday It was amazing how so many tall buildings were built in such a short period of time.
The village, which was earlier a Nagar Panchayat, came under the municipal jurisdiction in December 2014. After coming under the jurisdiction of the civic body, construction of high-rise buildings continued, killing lives. Tenants and people running their businesses within these buildings are at risk.
Parvinder Sohana, former sarpanch of the village and first municipal councilor (MC) of the area from 2015 to 2020, told The Indian Express that he had raised the issue of strict enforcement of building regulations, but was never heard.
‘This incident is part of the negligence of Maoist officials. You can see how PGs mushroomed, opening more hotels and hundreds of showrooms. There are hundreds of tall buildings in this area. MC officials should state that they check whether the owners follow the bye-laws,” added Parwinder.
Hundreds of tenants prefer PGs in Sohana as it is cheaper than Mohali city which is known for its exorbitant rent. There are hundreds of PGs in the village and most of them are operating without permission from the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
Most of the tenants are from neighboring states like Himachal Pradesh (HP), Jammu, Haryana who work in Mohali or Chandigarh.
MC Commissioner T Benith said that the owners will have to take permission from the MC before constructing any building in the area. He said that the owner of the collapsed building was digging the basement in the adjacent plot without taking permission.
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