Mumbai-based firm targets six-month window for Kochi Chander Kunj towers demolition, debris clearance
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The twin towers of the Chander Kunj Army Apartment Complex at Vyttila in Kochi. File | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
Edifice Engineering, the Mumbai-based firm selected for the demolition of the twin towers of the Chander Kunj Army Apartment Complex in Kochi, Keralam, hopes to complete the demolition within four months of the handing over of the 208 apartments, and disposing of the debris within another two months.
A meeting of the District Collector’s Committee, constituted to oversee the demolition and disposal of the apartments, has granted the company a six-month window for the entire exercise.
Edifice Engineering and South Africa’s Jet Demolition had undertaken a two-day inspection of apartments in towers ‘B’ and ‘C’ in June this year. The two firms had earlier overseen the demolition of the Maradu apartment complexes in Kochi.
The process has now gathered momentum after the Kerala High Court dismissed a petition filed by P.K. Unique Project Limited, a Tamil Nadu-based company, challenging the Collector’s Committee decision to award the demolition contract to Edifice.
“We will start sending our sub-vendors to the site to assess the actions that need to be taken and how they can be implemented, including issues related to the habitability of tower ‘A’ and the transfer of utilities. We are expecting to sign the demolition contract next week and get full custody of the apartments within another fortnight,” Uttkarsh Mehta, partner at Edifice Engineering, told The Hindu.
The company will deploy a 100-member team for the demolition process. However, the actual mobilisation of the team at the site will begin only after the takeover of the apartments is completed. A plan for debris disposal will be chalked out at a later stage, as the current focus is on preparing the apartments and carrying out the demolition.
Saji Thomas, president, Chander Kunj Army Towers Apartment Owners Association (CATAOA), said that the district collector’s committee has authorised the visit of Edifice Engineering teams to the apartments from Friday.
Following the previous visit in June, Mr. Mehta had said that the actual demolition may take only seconds, with the press of a button triggering a sequence in which the towers collapse one after the other, thereby reducing the impact on the ground. However, the company had stressed the need for the demolition to be undertaken at the earliest, considering the poor condition of the structures. It was found that while the buildings were stable enough to undergo implosion, corrosion had advanced in several areas. Since then, three months have been lost, primarily due to the litigation.
Ensuring the safety of residents in tower ‘A’, which is to be retained, is being considered the biggest logistical challenge, though the company remains confident of sparing it from any structural damage. It has also assured that nearby apartment buildings and the Kochi Metro line, located more than 50 metres away, will remain unaffected. The firm claimed expertise in carrying out demolitions without causing structural damage even within a nine-metre radius.
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