Admn is enemy no.1, or is it the rain?

Chandigarh, May 27: They're safe now but the next time heavy rain sends a flash flood down the Sukhna choe, thousands of people stand to see...

Chandigarh, May 27: They’re safe now but the next time heavy rain sends a flash flood down the Sukhna choe, thousands of people stand to see their jhuggis washed away — and perhaps some may lose their lives.

Several thousand huts have been constructed on the dry bed of the choe — most of these belong to Colony Number 4 here.

The choe flows through two colonies, one near the railway track near Manimajra and the second one — Colony Number 4 — is in Industrial Area, Phase I.

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Acknowledging that the place is dangerous, UT Deputy Commissioner K.K. Khandelwal says: "In times of heavy rains or in case the regulator end of Sukhna is opened, the flux of water could wipe away any number of jhuggis on the way, threatening life and property."

The Administration has decided to demolish all jhuggis built in the bed of the choe and resettle the inhabitants in the same area, officials said.The officials, when contacted, said that no construction of any kind, whatsoever, would be allowed in the choe.

While visiting the colony on Monday, UT Adviser Jagdish Sagar and other senior UT officials went around the enormous cluster of houses that have been built after blocking the drain and diverting the natural flow of water.Officials said that the choe was also hazardous in view of the industrial effluents which are discharged into it.

The Environment Department has been asked to take action against the erring industries, sources said. Secretary for environment S.K. Gathwal, when contacted, said that his Department too had received a few complaints about it. "But it is yet to be found out from where the effluents are being discharged," he told Newsline.According to the area councillor, Rajender Kumar, "Of the colony’s 40,000 population, half of them live in that choe. And many of them have ration or voter-identity cards."

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He said that most of these constructions came up two years ago. "Last year, many of the jhuggis were washed away by the rains. But people rebuilt their homes on the same sites. In fact, the area always remain flooded during the rainy season."