Nexus between builders, local politicians who own a big portion of property business in Zirakpur and Dera Bassi are the ones who have ruined the area for their interests

Almost a week after the rains and subsequent flooding in the periphery of Chandigarh, two houses – one in Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar and the other one at Panchwati Enclave in Kharar sub-division of Mohali – have partially collapsed. These two collapsed houses are symbolic of the problems residents of Zirakpur, Derra Bassi, Kharar and the vicinity are facing in the aftermath of flooding.

Kapil Bajwa, owner of the house at Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Kharar, says, he took a loan to construct the house. “I built the house nine years ago spending Rs 50 lakh. I’m still paying the installments but the house has collapsed.” He adds the house adjoining has also tilted and has become inhabitable. Another house at Panchwati Enclave in Kharar has partially collapsed.

Elsewhere in Gulmohar City Extension in Dera Bassi, which is 20 km from Chandigarh, the outer wall of our society has fallen down twice, once in 2014 and also recently after the rain and floods. “We feel cheated by the builders as they bypassed the due procedure to save money and put society at risk,” says Sanjay Singh, a resident of Gulmohar City Extension. Sanjay says, “This society was submerged up till the first floor,” the videos and photos of which went viral.

Despite a crash in property prices, no buyers

The occupants of most such properties in Zirakpur, Derra Bassi and Kharar want to sell their property but there are no buyers. Nitin Sharma, a property dealer in Kharar says, “Some of the clients want to sell their property.” But who would want to invest in a flat full of problems like improper sewerage and pot-holed roads?

He adds, “In one of the housing societies, the tiles on the ground floor are sinking in due to the accumulation of sewage water underneath which is not connected to the main sewer line. In this society, flats once priced at Rs 40 lakh have come down to Rs 25 to Rs 30 lakh and, still buyers are elusive.”

The much-hyped housing projects which came up on the Airport Road are also bearing the brunt of the recent flooding. Raman Bagga, another property dealer says havoc was caused on the Airport Road, Dera Bassi, Kharar, particularly Sunny Enclave part of Kharar floods due to the unregulated construction activities, even on agricultural land.

Another property dealer, Lakhwinder Singh says, “I have clients in a so-called posh society who are frustrated due to continuous overflow of sewage.” A resident of a housing society in Sector 127, Mohali, said they have been complaining of sewerage overflow for nearly a year even as the builder and the civic authorities have been blaming each other for the mess.

He complains, “A ten-minute spell of rain aggravates is enough to flood our society. Some of the residents recently shifted to their relatives and many checked into hotels.”

Aam Aadmi Party’s Dera Bassi legislator, Kuljit Singh Randhawa blames the nexus between builders, local politicians who own a big portion of property business in Zirakpur and Dera Bassi and they are the ones who have ruined the area.