Some houses in Aligarh develop cracks, locals blame 'shoddy' work while laying pipelines

Around two dozen houses in Aligarh's Kanwari Ganj have developed cracks in the past five days, with panic-stricken locals blaming "shoddy" work while laying pipelines in the area under the Smart City project. Additional Nagar Ayukta of Aligarh civic body Rakesh Kumar Yadav said on Wednesday that officials inspected the area following complaints by residents and a preliminary report is expected shortly.

The locality is on the slope of a hillock the top of which is known as the Upper Kot area the oldest residential area of the city.

Daya Shankar, a local, told reporters that strange rumbling sounds were heard a few nights ago. Later, it was observed that several walls have developed cracks and water oozing from them, he said.

Later, it became clear that the water was coming from a drain that runs down from the top of the hillock, Shankar said.

Last year, some new pipelines were laid for fresh water under the Smart City project. A new sewer line was also laid a few months ago and "the civil work was shoddy", a local claimed.

At many places, the excavated portions were "not filled up properly leading to heavy seepage", locals alleged and claimed many areas were under water following "unprecedented" rains in October last year "due to choking of drains".

This might have led to the accumulation of drain water underground which can be the reason behind the walls developing cracks, they said.

Another resident, Haider Khan, said, "We informed the civic authorities and the local police on Sunday and they sent a team of officials who inspected the site."

Additional Nagar Ayukta Rakesh Kumar Yadav said, "Our team visited the area and took pictures following complaints from the residents. Investigations are on in the matter."