More than 62,000 buildings were damaged in the earthquake in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts

A building (right) tilted towards another during the earthquake on Bidhan Road in Siliguri. (Kundan Yolmo)

Jalpaiguri/Siliguri, Sept. 22: More than 62,000 buildings, both single and multi-storeied, were damaged completely or partially in the earthquake in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts.

Of them, around 3,300 were flattened, while the rest suffered partial damage in the tremor registered 6.8 on the Richter scale on Sunday.

“According to the information which has reached us, 52,000 houses have been partially damaged in Darjeeling district, while 2,800 were completely destroyed. In Jalpaiguri district, 480 houses were razed to the ground, while about 7,000 buildings developed cracks. Our officials are preparing a report on the damage and it will take three more days for us to come up with final figures,” said Jalpaiguri divisional commissioner A.K. Singh.

The tremor had brought to focus the rampant violation of rules governing construction and inferior quality of work in the real estate sector.

Singh will convene a high-level meeting next week to discuss the issue.

“Damaged structures in Siliguri and Jalpaiguri show that builders had compromised with quality during construction. We have reports that fibre pipes were used, instead of iron rods, and there was inappropriate use of concrete mixture comprising sand and cement. Several people living in such buildings have complained to the authorities about the poor quality of work,” said Singh.

“To make an end to such wrong practices, we have decided to hold a high-level meeting next week. Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri district officials, representatives of the SJDA and Jaigaon Development Authority, civic bodies, the DGHC and the public works department, and realtors will be invited to the meeting,” he added. 

-TT