Hi folks!
This is Shelly, editor-in-chief of this blog- BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com, which is a people oriented blog that encompasses a common man's Civil Engineering and Architecture based doubts and queries besides providing guidance and value tips on these subjects. Not to mention, we take much pride being in constant touch, directly or indirectly, with our readers and their contacts especially when they seek our opinion or assistance towards seeking some solution or help.

Today, this blog brings about a grave concern to forefront that many of you or your known ones might have faced at some point of time.

The issue highlighted here today is about the harassment faced by the law-abiding residents of the societies/ colonies/ group housing flats and the likes where certain other big-bad-fat-fish (people intending to break rules and get works done by all illegal and immoral ways) intend to grab and cover every possible inch of the space around by altering existing structural frames of the building and/or by grabbing & covering the common areas of the building too.

Consider these two recent cases, where our readers have already sought help from the concerned government authorities. It of course needs to be seen how does the government authorities act in response- satisfactory/ dis-satisfactory/ or absolutely not at all !

Read on...

CASE-I

A senior bureaucrat buys a first floor flat (1347, C-1, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi) in the G+3 storeyed upscale Vasant Kunj residential complex. He engages a small time Civil contractor and goes about covering up open spaces and restructuring the interior layout, walls, beams, and what not in so haphazard and callous way that the very stability of the building as a whole goes for a toss.

Most of the in-frames have been dismantled and modified; beams & lintels have been removed by putting in make-over supporting built-up iron sections; precarious and dangerous out-of-the-boundary concrete cantilever projection has been cast over which even an extra toilet has been constructed which is so very ridiculous in itself, which reportedly was somehow rescued by the contractor when it was about to collapse during construction time itself.

Water logging has resulted due to shear negligence and oversight of the owner/contractor during all these renovation works are taking place. This has resulted in many a number of residents falling prey to dengue, which otherwise could have been avoided had the new owner and his engaged men acted sensibly.

The residents above this flat in question are a worried lot for obvious reasons as Structural cracks have started appearing in the flats above. All their requests to this new owner have fallen on deaf ears.  They have knocked the doors of the concerned authorities providing them the photographic evidences too. It needs to be seen when does the authorities act in a decisive way and make the new owner to act sensibly and stop unending dangerous alterations of the flat.

CASE-II

In the second case we are highlighting here, one Mr. Jitender Meena reportedly employed with Delhi operations of Air India buys a 3rd floor flat (top floor as per original construction, bearing postal address as L-13/H, Sheikh Sarai-II, New Delhi) in the G+3 storeyed Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) Sheikh Sarai colony built in 1980s. The people from whom he buys the flat already had covered part of the roof and built additional floor on the otherwise load-bearing ageing structure.

As per DDA's design concept, the roof is counted as common area for residents of entire building and is also used for housing the water storage tanks of the ground, first and second floor flats that are placed on the well-designed structural beams thereby ensuring no load is imparted directly on the roof.

The new owner turns out to be much more greedy than the previous owners, and chalks out devious plans to grab the roof area housing the water tanks also. He deceitfully removes some of the water tanks and then hacksaws the concrete beams thereby dismantling and removing part of the water tanks supporting structure. The date-by-date photographic evidences show how the new owner violated all the rules while adopting willfully illegal means to grab the remaining roof space also to cover up entire roof area.

When now confronted by the residents insisting not to remove water tanks, the new owner of the top floor has adopted more ill-means to create nuisance by piling up debris and termite affected wood at the ground floor blocking the way to the building and its maintenance shaft housing the water motors also.

The affected residents had lodged an e-complaint at Delhi Chief Minister's official website a couple of weeks back, the status of which is showing as being 'IN PROGRESS' in the office of Zonal Engineer, South Zone, MCD ever-since.  The affected residents fear the authorities may react too late until when the roof area would already have been grabbed by the new purchaser. Or worse still, the authorities may even not react at all, who knows!

---

NOTE:

No matter if the authorities react or don't react on these issues that haunt the law-abiding ordinary citizens, or may be able to resolve the problems for the good of affected residents, Team Bricks-n-Mortar would be following these issues very closely to see that justice and better sense prevails, and that rogue people who break rules for their own selfish reasons, are brought to books.

We seek all of your support too in following up the issues with authorities concerned and helping resolve this matter as well as similar other issues too.

If you have any similar grievance, do write in to us.

About the snapshots

Today's snapshots highlight how artistic and innovative one can get and thereby create amazing features from mundane building materials like concrete, bricks & mortar, that not only attract one's attention, but also can liven-up the overall ambiance of the place-- be it the hotel's party grounds, or an office's otherwise boring recreation area, or a commercial/  amusement park, or even one's house's backyard lawn.

These snaps have been clicked in the party lawns of one of the modest hotel's (read 1 or 2-star hotel) located in the Katni - Maihar region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. Though the rooms and amenities available at the hotel were unfortunately found below standard, the hotel's party lawn presented a contrasting picture showcasing some artistically made features from concrete, bricks & mortar that surely made up for the money spent for the stay there.

One can take hint and can easily make or procure such creative produces out of the otherwise rugged building materials like concrete, bricks & mortar, wood, wrought iron and even can further decorate the features by using waste and junk material like broken crockery, earthenware, household disposed equipment, and what not! (As a quick reference, are you not aware of the ROCK GARDEN in Chandigarh, India that Mr. Nek Chand created from concrete and household waste material? If not, tell us and we'll cover it for our readers in coming times).  [REF: Nek Chand's Outsider Art: The Rock Garden of Chandigarh ].

---

Post title: [Snapshots]: Artistic creations from bricks, mortar & concrete in a hotel in Madhya Pradesh, India

Today's snapshot is from BRICKS-n-MORTAR 's own archives. We would love to receive your very own caption(s) for this snapshot in the comments section below and/or by email / 'contact us' form. This series is being published here on this blog usually on Fridays to start with. You may also send in some of your splendid photographs relating to our theme and may earn value points adding up to our ongoing BnM's blog promotion contest - 2010

Ms. Rashmi Pinto asks via our Contact Us weblink available at our blog:

Every monsoons or periods of continuous rains, blue-green algae grows all over on our external surfaces, be it boundary wall, courtyard, etc., which doesn't get cleaned by detergent or other household cleaning agents, no matter how much I try.

This looks very ugly and takes away all the sheen off the home's exteriors.

Please suggest a simple household way on how to get rid of the blue-green algae that comes on walls and floors during rains?

Unwanted blue-green algae outgrowth on exteriors during & after rainy season

Team BRICKS-n-MORTAR replies:

You can put in use the commonly available off-the-shelf chemical  in medical shops or large general stores, called the 'bleaching powder'.

Use bleaching powder to get rid of the blue-green algae from external surfaces

Bleaching powder, also commonly called as 'chloride of lime', is a strong bleaching and disinfectant agent that is available to households as a white or nearly white powder. It is usually a mixture of calcium chloride hypochlorite, CaCl(OCl); calcium hypochlorite, Ca(OCl)₂; and calcium chloride, CaCl₂.

Bleaching powder, when comes in contact with air and water (usually in the form of moisture in common household circumstances), evolves chlorine and hence acts as a disinfectant and germicide since it liberates chlorine on exposure to air and water, which destroys germs, algae, bacteria, etc. It is also used commonly for bleaching coarse fabrics like cotton, wood pulp and paper.

All one needs to do is to sprinkle the bleaching powder on the algae affected surfaces, be it on floors or walls, and leave the chemical to react for some time. Please take note that the chemical may take away the wall paint too, so take proper precaution and decision as where to apply.

Once the chemical starts reacting with air and water, it evolves chlorine, which in turn would help removing the blue-green algae. Simply scrub, broom and wipe the surfaces to make them clean again.

---

Ask us in case you also have any query relating to civil engg, architecture, building design & construction, interiors, etc.
Subscribe to get more such tips-n-bits, posts and articles delivered directly to your mailbox. Alternatively, subscribe to our RSS Feeds if you desire to access the content of this blog over any feed-reader of your choice.

---

With only a few calender weeks left as on date to the official start of the Common Wealth Games 2010 (CWG 2010), BRICKS-n-MORTAR envisages to carry out time-to-time round-up of the ongoing infrastructure development and allied construction / upgradation / rehabilitation related works, which directly or indirectly relate to the successful show of Common Wealth games 2010 that the capital city of India - New Delhi would be hosting from October 03, 2010 to October 14, 2010.

Not to mention that almost all of Indians, India well-wishers and the concerned agencies would be wondering how the final package would fare in front of the entire world, government departments and executing and/or event managing agencies would surely be on their toes. While the general public would be experiencing the activities relating to the making-up to the event in day-to-day face-off, the agencies at the helm of the affairs would be confronted with day-countdowns.

All in all, one thing is for sure-- while to the run-up to the final stages, when the commonwealth games would be about to be inaugurated, or even when the games would be on, there will be some works finally being admired having been nicely & timely executed, while a few would have still remained either in a messed-up state or badly executed/ half-done by the respective agency/agencies, per se.

Lets together take a stock of situation on ground as of now. We welcome our readers' contributions and suggestions, the best of which would be forwarded to the concerned authorities / agencies for the follow up.

PR: wait...  I: wait...  L: wait...  LD: wait...  I: wait... wait...  Rank: wait...  Traffic: wait...  Price: wait...  C: wait...