New York: Indian diplomats at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations remain displaced from their premises, three weeks after evacuation orders were issued after structural damage was reported in a high-rise under-construction building.The building of the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, located just a block away from the UN Headquarters, houses the Mission offices as well as residences for Indian diplomats and officials posted in the Indian Mission to the United Nations and their families.On July 7, the entire building was evacuated along with other high-rise buildings and businesses in the area after structural issues were reported at the former headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, a 37-story-tall, “active construction” site between Second and Third Avenues on 42nd Street in Manhattan.India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations is located right opposite the endangered high-rise building. The area houses several United Nations missions, UN agency officials, major hotels and restaurants, residences and businesses.All Indian diplomats and their families followed necessary precautions in view of the evacuation orders and had vacated the premises. The officials and their families had to find temporary accommodation in hotels across the city.Within a day, evacuation orders for almost the entire area around the Pfizer building were lifted, and people returned to their residences and office buildings. Roads in and around the affected building were also opened to pedestrian and vehicular traffic.However, the Indian mission, a school and a hotel in the area are still under evacuation orders and cannot be accessed.Even three weeks after the incident, there is still no clarity from the New York City Mayor’s Office or the Department of Buildings as to when the premises of the Indian Mission to the UN will reopen for the return of officials and their families.The prolonged displacement has caused immense disruption and inconvenience to Indian diplomats and their families.Indian diplomats have been carrying out their work and duties even amid these disruptions, including managing the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to the UN on July 13 to launch India’s official campaign for the non-permanent UN Security Council seat for 2028-29.That high-level visit also took place amid chaos and as the Indian mission premises remained inaccessible to its diplomats.Sources have told PTI that the difficulties faced by the Indian mission have been taken up with the authorities concerned as diplomats in the Indian permanent mission continue to perform their duties.PTI contacted officials of the Department of Buildings of the Office of the Mayor of New York City about the condition of the Indian Mission building, the disruption caused by the displacement in the third week and whether there is any timeline by which the building can be accessed again by the officials and their families. There has been no response from the department.The Permanent Mission of India in New York is housed in a 27-storey red granite-clad building constructed in 1993. The building was designed by Indian architect Charles Correa and is located between 43rd and 44th Streets, just off Second Avenue.New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the condition of the Pfizer Building as “extremely serious” and said the building remained unstable.Ahmed Tigani, commissioner of the NYC Department of Buildings, said in a video posted on Twitter on July 18 that the agency has not detected any movement in the affected building for more than a week.Although he gave an update on the measures being taken to secure the building, there has been no update from the department or the mayor’s office on when the premises of the Indian Mission to the UN can be accessed again.