Two luxury waterfront high-rises in Kerala were reduced to rubble in controlled explosions yesterday in a rare example of authorities getting tough on builders who break environmental rules.
The 19-floor H2O Holy Faith complex of 90 flats – overlooking Kerala’s famous lush backwaters in Kochi – was the first to go down, collapsing in just a matter of few seconds.
A thick grey cloud of dust and debris cascaded down after officials detonated explosives drilled into the walls of the building, which had been occupied for several years until the Supreme Court ruled last May that it was constructed in violation of coastal regulations.
Minutes later, the twin towers of Alfa Serene tumbled down with an ear-splitting noise.
The remaining two complexes – Jain Coral Cave and Golden Kayaloram flats – will be razed today.
A crowd of onlookers who flocked to nearby terraces and roads watched the demolition, after officials in helicopters conducted aerial surveys.
India has seen a construction boom in recent years but developers have often ridden roughshod over safety and other regulations, with the connivance of local officials.
The inhabitants of the apartment blocks in the well-off Maradu district of Kochi had bought their 343 flats in good faith and now face a lengthy legal fight to recoup their money.
Some had invested their life savings.
Sirens went off yesterday warning people gathered for the demolition to remain at a safe distance while ambulances and fire engines stood on standby.
R Venugopal, an explosion expert who co-ordinated the entire operation, said everything went off as planned.
“We even were able to bring down the intensity of the implosion and everything went off well,” he said.
“Everything is fine and there has been no damage at all in the nearby areas. We were confident that things would be fine,” he said.
But ahead of the work, nearby residents said they were worried about the impact of the demolition on their homes.
“When they were demolishing the swimming pool, some of the houses in our neighbourhood developed cracks, we are really worried,” said Divya, who has moved into temporary accommodation.
Early in the morning the Ernakulam District Collector S Suhas went around the flats and took his seat at the control room at the Maradu municipality from where the entire operations was being manned.
Over 2,000 residents living in the neighbourhood were evacuated as a part of safety measures.
The demolition capped a saga that began in 2006 when a local governing body granted permission to private builders to erect the high-rises.
But last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the builders were in breach of rules about construction in an ecologically sensitive coastal zone, calling it a “colossal loss” to the environment.
“It’s a high-tide area and hundreds of illegal structures have come up in the coastal zone,” the court ruled as it ordered the buildings razed.
On Friday the court also ordered the demolition of a resort in neighbouring Alappuzha district after its owners lost the appeal of a 2013 ruling that said the structure violated environmental regulations and must be demolished.