NOIDA: Around 40 people were injured after 126 brick-and-mud houses were damaged in a hailstorm that swept through Ali Bardipur village in Ecotech 3 area on Thursday.The storm and rain led to the collapse of 18 houses in the colony, which the administration termed illegal, while 108 were damaged partially. The storm started around 7.30pm on Thursday when the houses began to collapse one after the other, causing panic among the residents. The injured are undergoing treatment at various hospitals across the city.Anita Chauhan, the SHO of Ecotech 3 police station, said, “We received information about the incident around 8pm when one of the residents called on the emergency number 100. A police team and an ambulance reached the spot. We informed the administration around 9pm when the numbers started to rise,” Chauhan said. The officer added that people from neighbouring villages had volunteered to help.Officials from the administration also reached the spot along with additional police force and three more ambulances. Eighteen people were rushed to NIMMS Hospital in Greater Noida while 22 were provided medical assistance by doctors at the site itself.Mehruddin (60), whose single-storey building collapsed, told TOI that four people from his family were admitted to the hospital after one of the walls of his house fell on them when they were having dinner.Anjani Kumar Singh, the sub-divisional magistrate of Dadri, said the houses collapsed because they were loosely built with just mud and bricks. “The houses that were affected seem to have been built without following norms and can be dubbed illegal. The residents were fortunate that there were no deaths,” he said.Singh added that the entire colony is illegal as it is built on the floodplains of the Hindon river . “Half of the colonies built on the floodplains are illegal. We are currently checking the authenticity of the affected area and action will be taken,” Singh said.Meanwhile, the residents did not seem happy with the administration. Raghunath, one of the victims, said, “Poor people like us have been living in this area for many years. Our houses have been destroyed and we are just seeking help from the government and authorities. But nobody is really showing up for that.”He said there was no electricity and water in the area following the storm. “We have nothing to eat. But all they are worried about is whether our houses are legal or not,” he added.Officials said ration would be distributed in the affected area on Friday night. The SDM said that according to law, relief packages are only meant for survivors in fire accidents or other major disasters. “In this case, we are bound by law. We cannot rehabilitate the residents as the land on which their houses were built is illegal,” he said.Asked if any action would be taken against those found to have built houses illegally, district magistrate BN Singh said there would be no cases against those who purchased the plots. “We have already started booking people under the Gangster Act for selling over 100 illegal plots. In this case, we will avoid taking any legal action against those who have been affected by the storm on Thursday,” said BN Singh.

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