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Flats demolition through implosion:Final inspections completed

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Press Trust of India Kochi

Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation officials on Thursday carried out the final inspections to bring down four illegal apartment complexes built in violation of CRZ norms through controlled implosion and said they were confident it would be carried out safely.

The buildings will be brought down on Saturday and Sunday.

Government officials and engineers of demolition companies have assured residents in the neighbourhood, who fear their homes will be damaged, that the implosion will be done safely.

The residents have moved the Kerala High Court, seeking its intervention to ensure they get adequate compensation amount in case their homes are damaged during the demolition of the apartment complexes.

 

Allaying their fears, engineers of Edifice Engineering and Vijay Steels said the blast would not have an impact outside as the explosives have been filled in the inter connected holes drilled in the structures.

The blast pillars have been covered with geo textiles and other materials like wire mesh.

Wind curtains have been set up in each blast floor to prevent even small stones being flung outside in the impact, a South African expert associated with Edifice Engineering said.

Officials of PESO and other members of the government- appointed technical committee visited residents in the neighbourhood on Thursday and assured them that all steps have been taken to avoid any damage to their homes.

The engineers said all steps have been taken to ensure that bridges near the structures are not affected.

The blast patterns have been designed in such a manner it would not affect pillars of the bridges, an engineer said.

PESO officials said a mock drill will be carried out on Friday, official sources said.

Meanwhile, nearly 57 flat owners in these buildings said they have not received compensation from the government so far, despite the Supreme Court suggesting providing Rs 25 lakh as compensation to owners of all the buildings.

PESO experts have expressed satisfaction over the final inspects they carried out.

"We have taken all steps to ensure the bridges are not affected...we have designed the blast pattern in such a way that it should not affect the pillars of the bridges", an official said.

The 19-floor H2O Holy faith apartment complex having 90 flats and the Alfa Serene complex with 73 flats in its 17 and 12 floors twin towers will be demolished on January 11 in a gap between 11 AM and 11.05 AM.

The 17-floor Jain Coral Cove apartment complex with 122 flats would be razed at 11 AM on January 12, while Golden Kayaloram with 40 flats and 17 floors would be demolished at 2 PM, authorities said.

They said people living in the neighbourhood would be evacuated as a precautionary measure on the two days and that ban orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in the evacuation zone from 8 AM to 4 PM to prevent movement of public within a 200 metre radius.

People may witness the implosion from any place outside the evacuation zone, police have said in a detailed advisory issued on Wednesday night.

All traffic air borne, water borne and land based, has been prohibited in the evacuation zone, as also flying of any drones as all the buildings have been charged with explosives.

A total of 343 waterfront flats were built in the complexes, violating the Coastal Regulation Zone norms.

The apex court had in September 2019 directed demolition of the apartment complexes within 138 days, a time line given by the Kerala government.

On May 8 last year, the apex court had directed that these buildings be removed within a month as they were constructed in a notified Coastal Regulation Zone, which was part of the tidally-influenced water body in Kerala.

The court had passed the order after taking note of a report of a three-member committee, which said that when the buildings were built, the area was already notified as a CRZ and construction was prohibited.

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First Published: Jan 09 2020 | 5:40 PM IST

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