CHINIOT: The Chiniot municipality has identified 34 buildings as dangerous, and another six the most dangerous.

Tehsil Officer (planning) of Chiniot Tehsil Municipal Administration Khalid Masood Khan told Dawn that they had issued eviction orders to the occupants of the most dangerous buildings, asking them to raze the decades-old structures.

The municipality served notices on 28 others asking the owners to repair theirbuildings.

Decades-old buildings in Chiniot bazaars pose a threat not only to their occupants, but also to neighbours.

On Aug 5, the house of Sarfraz Ahmad collapsed in neighbourhood Garha and he was buried with his wife Nargis and daughters Rohana and Sehr under the debris. Only Sehr was retrieved alive from the debris.

In the Chiniot city, rundown buildings are found in Mohallah Garha, Mohallah Garlan and Dhiggi Pur.They were built before Partition.

In these neighbourhoods, streets are narrow where taking construction material is a task.

Aftab Ahmad, a resident of one such building in Mohallah Garha, told Dawn he knew that his house was dangerous but he lacked both resources and any alternative place to relocate.Rizwan Ahmad, his neighbour, said said that whenever there was rain, bricks fell from the shade of the building.

The residents demanded that the Punjab government raze buildings and also make a policy in consultation with the residents about the reconstruction.