IT Exclusive
Thousands of women vendors of the two Ima Keithels are still struggling to be provided with proper places for marketing their wares after the 6.8 Richter scale earthquake on January 4 this year damaged the two structures making it necessary for the vendors to vacate their stalls. Meanwhile, after an expert team from IIT Roorkee led by Prof Dr Yogendra inspected the damaged Ima Keithel building on January 8, it has come to light that an expression of interest for providing technical input in rehabilitation of Ima Keithel from Dr. Dipti Ranjan Sahoo, Assistant Professor- Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi to the Chief Engineer (Building) of the PWD made on January 11 has so far failed to elicit any reply. It is evident that the state government is more concerned with providing makeshift and temporary marketing sheds for the displaced vendors than pressing for the completion of retrofitting of the damaged structures to end the woes of the women vendors permanently. What also remains a mystery is the reluctance of the state to respond to an offer from another prestigious institute to study the deficiencies in the structures, explore various strengthening strategies that will make the structures reusable and seismically-resistant and propose simple yet cost-effective rehabilitation technique without altering the aesthetics and architectural importance. If nothing, such a study will provide an alternative and will definitely broaden the knowledge of the concern at the state level and will prove a huge fillip in future eventualities. The baffling silence from the state authority on the issue needs to be made understood to the public, especially the much harassed and displaced women vendors as the matter is one of livelihood of thousands of people from the state.