Odisha: Puri Man Jacks Up 20-Yr-Old House By 5ft To Prevent Flooding

Puri: A 20-year-old single-storey house at Gopinathpur in Odisha’s Puri has become the talk of the pilgrim town.

The three-room 600 sqft house is being lifted five feet above the ground, using 100 heavy duty jacks.

Sources said that rain and sewage water entered the house, which is in a low-lying area, causing problem for the inhabitants. Since the owners did not want to raze the building and construct a new one, they decided to lift it instead.

Workers from Bihar and Jharkhand have been engaged in the work, which began on February 20. The house has already been lifted by one and a half feet, the sources added.

A similar house lifting work was seen in Bhograi block of Balasore district two years back. It was done by a Haryana-based company. A 30-year-old house was also lifted by 4 feet from ground using jacks in Sambalpur in 2018.

The technique – house-raising or lifting or jacking – involves digging up the topsoil to approach the foundation of the building, which is then  separated from its walls and pillars and steel beams or jacks (manual or hydraulic) are inserted to evenly lift the house to the desired level.