Rajahmundry: Apartment owners hit by hasty acts of builders

Rajahmundry: There seems to be no relief for the residents of multi-storeyed apartments as a portion of their compound wall caved in recently causing concern to them as the builder of a seven-storeyed multiplex called Prasaditya Mall failed to take precautionary measures while taking up works, despite witnessing cracks in three columns of the apartment located next, earlier in the city.

On April 29th night, a portion of the compound wall of the multi-storeyed apartment caved in and an electric transformer also collapsed, causing panic among the local residents of A.V. Apparao Road.

Municipal Commissioner Sumit Kumar Gandhi held an emergency meeting with all the officials concerned and discussed at length about the development. One of the prime reasons attributed for sliding was loose soil, resulting in caving in of a portion of the compound wall. This was said to be due to underestimating the weight of the compound wall and its impact on the soil supporting it.

The multiplex builder began constructing a retaining wall in the entire stretch of deep excavated area on all four sides and during the process, when some loose soil was cleared for the construction of a retaining wall, it slid down, resulting in the collapse of the part of the compounding wall standing on it.

The civic authorities directed the multiplex builder to leave the setbacks as per the building plan approval and take up construction of retaining wall on all four sides of the site and take up no construction works further.

The owner of the multiplex is learnt to have applied for building plan approval online and so far has not paid any amount in the form of fee, either to the Municipal Corporation or to the Urban Development Authority.

Municipal Corporation city planner Vara Prasad said: “Based on directions from the Municipal Commissioner, the multiplex builder was asked to leave setbacks as per the building plan and take up the construction of only a retaining wall on all four sides and asked not to take up any further construction, without permission.”

Guda chief planning officer V. Ram Kumar said: “We have instructed the multiplex builder to fill up the excavated site with soil and make it compact by running a road roller on it so that there may not be any sliding loose soil, having its impact on neighbouring structures.”