The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Ignoring warning signs proves costly

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Saturday, Dec 18, 2010
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Ignoring warning signs proves costly

B. Madhu Gopal

Flat owners have been representing the matter to officials concerned for the last two years

There are allegations that the builder had not adopted safe engineering practices
Approval was given during 2004-05

VISAKHAPATNAM: The collapse of the 20-foot high retaining wall, that supports the rear pillars of a 5-storied apartment building, didn't happen all of a sudden. There had been enough early warning signs. The flat owners had been representing the matter to officials concerned for the last two years.

But, are the officials of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation really concerned? If that were the case things would not have come to such a pass, the flat owners feel.

The Vaibhav Hills Apartment, located on the hillslope at Marripalem VUDA Colony, was constructed in 2007. The builder, Maheswara Reddy, had constructed the retaining wall and filled red soil to reclaim the rear portion of the plot that was uneven due to the hill slope. There are allegations that the builder had not adopted safe engineering practices in reclaiming the land.

But, what were Town Planning officials, who had sanctioned the plan, doing? “They could have refused permission and spared us the agony of putting our hard-earned money in a project that was destined to collapse. They make us shell out huge sums of money for according approvals and sanctions but express helplessness when it comes to saving us in a crisis,” says Vaibhav Hills Apartment Owners Welfare Association president Percy John. He demands that GVMC officials use the equipment at their disposal to reinforce the structure and prevent further damage to the building.

“The rear plot owner excavated his plot and also partially dug up the 10-foot-wide road behind the apartment complex in August 2008. Subsequently, cracks were noticed in the cellar and the retaining wall,” says association secretary Alla Bhakshu.

“The approval for construction of the building was given during 2004-05. There were deviations in balconies but they were regularised under the Building Penalisation Scheme,” said a GVMC official who visited the apartment.

Meanwhile, Visakhapatnam Apartment Residents Welfare Association general secretary A.V. Ramana Rao and president G.L.N. Sastry expressing shock over the incident attributed it to ‘structural defects'. They felt that non-observance of building standards by the builder and ‘laxity' on the part of GVMC while issuing the occupancy certificate were responsible for the incident. GVMC should engage engineering personnel to take up safety works. The cost of repairs could be recovered from the builder, they added.

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