HYDERABAD, July 2: The Building Control Department of Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) has warned more than hundred families, living in the proximity of Pucca Qilla's fortification wall, to shift to safer places as the wall has been declared dangerous in the wake of monsoon rains.

However, the Sindh government has not yet decided on how and where to shift them.

Inquiries by Dawn on Monday revealed that the families’ lives were in great danger given the wall's dilapidated condition. The district government had in October 2004 submitted a summary following General Musharraf's promise of Rs50 million grant for the rehabilitation of these families.

The houses in the locality were divided into A, B, C and D categories in view of their physical condition during a joint survey conducted by the building control department, and the then UC-8 Nazim Saleem Khan and Taluka Nazim Moinuddin Sheikh.

Categories ‘A’ and ‘B’ included houses that are in dangerous condition whereas category C listed those houses which are in danger but not likely to collapse while category D mentioned houses, situated within 16-feet distance of the fortification wall which is in a dilapidated condition and it is not known whether any repair work was done by archaeological department in recent past.

Debris continues to fall from the boundary walls of Qilla during and after the monsoon rains.

Several meetings were held under chairmanship of the then Commissioner Hyderabad. A committee was formed to identify dangerous locations of the Qilla; counselling of affected people for taking necessary precautions; finding causes of deterioration; propose short and long terms solutions; suggest restoration and preservation measures and monitor/supervise execution of restoration work. However, the findings of the committees are still not known. In 2000 following another meeting of HDA staff with Highway and Archaeology Department officials, spaces were marked to vacate 16 feet wide corridor.

Demolition of houses was postponed in view of expected protest by the people. Another proposal to shift people to Junejo colony also didn't work.

The excuse of not shifting people to temporary camps seemed to be genuine as they were not provided with food and even drinking water there.

Whenever monsoon season begins the administration tries to shift these families to relief camps but the residents reject the offer. They complain that they were being shifted there without food and water.

On August 26, 2003, President Musharraf had announced Rs50 million for rehabilitation of people of Pucca Qilla during his visit to the area on the request of Taluka City Nazim Moinuddin Sheikh.

The district government has decided to construct 500 square feet flats for the people at the abandoned land of Markaz-i-Mehran—a joint venture of HDA-opposite Building Control office off Tulsi Das road.

After a meeting chaired by DCO Mohammad Hussain Syed on July 21, 2004, a survey was carried out by the Building Control Department, revealed: “49 houses are in most dangerous condition which needed immediate demolition whereas 85 were in dilapidated condition in danger zone. Presently 1,206 persons are residing there whose lives needed to be safeguarded.”

Since then there has been no progress in this matter. A summary was forwarded to Sindh government which has, perhaps, been put it into cold storage. The idea of rehabilitating these families either seemed to have been dropped or authorities were perhaps busy in some other ‘important’ assignments.

District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil said that there are 44 dangerous locations or buildings from where people needed to be shifted to safer places. And different relief camps were being set up in this regard. “These 44 locations included residents of Pucca Qilla as well”, he said.

He held meetings with people in those buildings and requested them to shift to relief camps at least during rains.

“A committee was formed to ensure shifting of people and if they didn't go, criminal proceedings might be initiated against them,” he said.

“These were not notices but just an advice that the 129 families should shift to safer places.”

A notice means that people are being ejected from their settlements, said building control director Hyderabad Hameed Memon. He said he didn't have any update on the rehabilitation of these families to other areas.

When the present UC-8 Nazim, Munawar Khan Zai, was contacted, he said that two days ago announcements were made, urging people to leave their houses so that they could be shifted to safer places.

But people were not ready to go because of the poor condition of camps, he admitted.

Official sources said that it was in the 50s and the 60s that the authorities had tried to shift not only these families but all those who had settled there following their migration from India.