Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has clarified his controversial remarks wherein he appeared to be blaming "Bihari architects' on the collapse of buildings in Himachal.
In an interview with an English daily, Sukhu, while blaming unscientific construction, said the houses that collapsed recently did not maintain the standards of structural engineering. "The migrant architects (masons), whom I call 'Bihari architects', come here and construct floor on floor. We do not have local masons," Sukhu was quoted by The Indian Express.
However, the chief minister said on Thursday that he never made such a comment. "I did not say anything as such. The people of Bihar were also stuck here. I got them evacuated by helicopters. Around 200 people from Bihar are still stuck here. They are like our brothers. It is the fault of our structural engineering, they are just labourers," Sukhu clarified.
His comments came as footage from flood-ravaged Shimla showed houses collapsing like cards. While blaming unscientific methods, Sukhu said the drainage system was very poor in recently-made buildings.
"People believe they are draining the water without knowing that water is going nowhere but into the hills, making them fragile. Shimla is more than one and a half century old, and its drainage system was excellent. Now there are buildings in the nallas (runlets)," he added.
The chief minister, while detailing his rehabilitation plans for Himachal, told PTI that the intensity of rains since Sunday resulted in the massive damage.
Blaming the lack of structural designing in the state, Sukhu said buildings obstruct the natural course of water flow at places and little attention is paid to designing structures. "The river didn't enter homes, the homes entered the river," he said.
He stopped short of identifying the widening of roads by the National Highways Authority of India as a significant cause, saying most of the landslides weren't at the edge of these roads.
Sukhu also indicated there would be new guidelines and tougher implementation of building rules. He cited issues like proper drainage, studying the soil on which buildings are being constructed and a consideration of weight-bearing capacity of floors.