GHAZIABAD: Nearly 8,000 people live in 10 big slums in Indirapuram Vasundhara , Vaishali and Kaushambi which are most vulnerable to fire, according to a survey conducted by police. The survey was conducted on the direction of the GDA, after a fire recently destroyed a slum in Indirapuram.“On April 3, over 100 hutments were gutted that displaced close to 250 families in Kanawani in Indirapuram. This was a wakeup call for us. So, on the direction of GDA vice-chairperson Ritu Maheshwari, a survey was undertaken by police to identify the areas where people live in slums,” said V K Singh, officer on special duty (OSD), GDA. “Ten spots have been identified in Indirapuram, Vasundhara, Vaishali and Kaushambi where people live in slums and are most vulnerable to fire,” added Singh.Such slums identified in Indirapuram are in Abhay Khand 2 with a population of 1,200 people; in Makanpur, which is inhabited by around 600 people and in Shakti Khand 4 and 2 near Kanawani gate with a population of around 4,000 people.Close to 600 people live in two slums located in Vasundhara’s Sector 2A and on the stretch between sectors 6 and 4B. A third slum located between sectors 7 and 8 is home to 250 people.In Kaushambi, close to 850 people live in two slums that have come up on a vacant plot near Radisson Blu and a police outpost. A slum in Vaishali is home to around 300 people.“The hutments which are mostly inhabited by migrant construction labourers from other states are constructed of tin shades and even polythene which is highly inflammable and in case of a fire, it has the potential to cause maximum damage to life and property. During summer, the risk of such disaster increases substantially,” said Singh. “The survey was necessitated to relocate these people but we realised that it could not be done overnight. So for now we have decided to sensitise slum dwellers of fire safety measures by creating awareness and providing them with basic amenities.”The land where majority of slums have come up is on a private land and GDA intends to fix responsibilities on the owners.

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