The inhabitants of the Betania sector, north of Bucaramanga, are in constant distress because when it rains, water gushes out of the ground and is undermining the bases of two towers. The majority of people who live there are victims of violence and fear that this situation will take away their home.
When it rains in the Betania urbanization, north of Bucaramanga, the residents of some apartments live a nightmare. Underground runoff begins to bubble up and seep through walls and electrical connections, unleashing floods that affect their belongings and put their lives at risk.
Furthermore, those same waters that leak into the apartments are undermining the floors of two towers, where some 60 families live, which is leaving the structures in the air with a possible risk that every time it rains the waters will eat away at the ground, destabilize it and an alleged collapse may occur.
To complete, this urbanization is in the middle of a geological fault that has already sunk the Villas de San Ignacio School, a structure that was never used because the earth movement prevented its start-up, and which has collapsed the road between Café Madrid and El Palenque. , in the sector known as ‘Paso malo’.
Faced with this situation, the families residing there, most of whom are victims of violence, filed a popular action for the authorities to take action on the matter.
The lawyer representing the residents of Betania, William Duarte Pico, explained that they are seeking answers to four specific questions: one, if the community is at risk; two, whether the risks can be mitigated; three, that a definitive solution be given to the problem; and four, determine if the failure is geological or hydraulic in nature.
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Zoraida Prada García came to live in Betania in October 2015. She settled there because she was recognized as a victim of violence and the apartment that the State gave her was compensation for the seven victimizing events that she experienced, some at the hands of the FARC and others by the paramilitaries.
He thought he was going to start a quiet life, far from the worries and fear that the war caused him. However, now “I’m afraid to live here, I live in anxiety, when it rains I can’t get over my nerves, I see the hole under the tower and it seems terrible to me,” the woman said.
According to her, the problem with the water is due to the fact that a stream passed through the land where the housing project was built, but the construction contractor of the Bucaramanga Housing Institute (Invisbu) did not adapt the filters to channel the water.
“When it rains, it rains more inside than outside, the water goes under the ground and is opening a hole. I fear that there will be an earthquake and this will collapse,” she said.
Javier Flórez Báez also lives in Betania, he was displaced by violence in Puerto Wilches in 2001 by an unknown armed group and came to Bucaramanga in search of a better future. Like Zoraida, he was benefited to access housing due to his condition as a victim, however, today he feels that the suffering due to that displacement is repeated due to the worrying situation in which the bases of the tower in which he is located are. resides.
According to Javier, when it rains a flood is generated under the tower and little by little the earth is removed. If “this continues, the structure that supports the towers will be left in the air and what will happen? “An earthquake will occur and that will affect us,” the man said.
For him, before building the housing project, a soil study was necessary, because a ravine passed through there that was covered by the work and that is why the water now flows.
Graciela Moncada Espazar, a resident of Betania and also displaced by violence in 2002 and 2006, is perhaps one of the most affected. Her apartment is on the first floor and she was on a lower level than the others, since the walls at the back face the mountain. When it rains, water seeps through the walls and outlets, but they are not drops or moisture, they are jets of water that flood the home.
“The risk here is latent, because I see that the walls are deteriorating every day. We have tried to make repairs on the inside, but the water continues to leak,” the woman said.
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Those affected ask the authorities to pay attention to them and take action before a tragedy occurs. “We want you to look at this before a catastrophe occurs,” asked Javier Flórez Báez.
The lawyer for those affected, William Duarte Pico, said that although there are effects due to the poor management of waste, there are responsibilities that must be assumed and an effective solution provided.
Visit of the Mayor’s Office of Bucaramanga
The Mayor’s Office of Bucaramanga visited Betania on May 23 to comply with the Popular Action. After the tour it was found that: the damage to the towers is caused by poor management of surface and underground water, which has caused the appearance of gullies (holes) and generates humidity in the walls; the retaining walls do not have an adequate drainage system to guarantee groundwater management; The gully or gap that was generated between towers 1 and 2 is the product of poor management of surface waters, apparent poor compaction and lack of maintenance in the perimeter channels of the towers; The effects within the apartments are not due to structural failures that could generate instability or collapse, they are effects due to urban planning failures.
The visits will continue to characterize the area and find a solution.
