SURAT: A recent survey carried out by Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) shows that as many as 1 ,324 structurally unstable properties need to be demolished urgently and another 508 repaired in the city for they are vulnerable to rain.In a city with population of more than 50 lakh people and 14 lakh households, many properties have outlived their time and need to be brought down urgently.“Unfortunately in Surat, many properties are not that old yet weak because inferior construction materials were used to build them. Many high and low-rise buildings constructed in 1970s and 1980s in the city are structurally unstable for the same reason,” said Professor SN Desai, a faculty member of Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology.Experts say rain lashes a structure every monsoon season and if it is weak then cracks develop in it and there would be corrosion in load bearing structures like columns, beams, stairs and slabs having iron An officer of SMC said, “Some old buildings constructed 100 years ago are structurally more stable than those built 30 years ago.” The state government needs to come out with a policy on what conditions should a building undergo repairs. After the collapse of many skyscrapers in the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat , people began to insist on earthquake-resistant structures from builders. Still not all constructions built after 2001 in the state can be termed to be earthquake-resistant, another civic officer added.

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