Hyderabad: Shonky builders' cheap work

Hyderabad: Even the most reputed builders in the city do not follow the standard, established procedures laid down in codes of construction practices.

This causes mishaps in which workers lose their lives, say civil engineers from JNTU. When digging, it is extremely important to shore up the soil, supporting the vertical soil, which builders ignore.

On Monday, around at 9.40 am, four labourers were at work on a construction site of M/s.Vamsiram Builders, to erect RCC pillars 30 feet below ground level. Granite stones and gravel fell on the labourers, killing two of them.

Dr N V Ramana Rao, expert in civil engineering from JNTU, who visited the accident site, said, “The common mistakes of the builder when excavating is that they don't dig bench or step wise but do it vertically downwards. There is no retaining capacity and this leads to slippage and failure. Also, the builder does not compact or consolidate the soil, leading to uneven settlements and soil mov-ements. While laying the concrete, the compaction, if not done, probably corrodes the concrete.”

He added that builders often go in for cheap material; instead of sand, they use stone dust and filter sand, leading to cracks. The Filmnagar collapse was due to a weak support system. The six floor building collapse at Nanakramguda was due to a design fault. For each construction failure there is a specific reason.

In case of construction on an uneven platform, like the Deccan area in the city, the building should be constructed sufficiently away from steep slopes. Most buildings, especially in the rocky zone of Gachibolwi, Kondapur, and Manikonda, are on an elevation.

GHMC town planning inspectors say that due to staff constraints, they do not conduct inspections at these giant construction sites. But that is really no excuse when lives are at stake.